CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS 
ie  Jitfe  ano  tyis  HUorfc 


THE  LOTTO  PORTRAIT  OF  COLUMBUS. 


"MAKERS   OF   AMERICA" 


CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS 


i£  life  auH 


BY 


CHARLES  KENDALL  ADAMS,  LL.D.  R 


PRESIDENT    OF  CORNELL    UNIVERSITY 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


NEW   YORK 
DODD,    MEAD   AND    COMPANY 

1892 


Copyright,  1892, 

BY  DODD,  MEAD  AND  Co. 

All  rights  reserved. 


SRntoersitp 
JOHN  WILSON  AND  SON,  CAMBRIDGE. 


TO 

J.   J.    HAGERMAN, 

Nobleman  and  Friend, 

THIS  VOLUME  IS  AFFECTIONATELY  DEDICATED 
BY  THE  AUTHOR. 


101844 


PREFACE. 


IN  this  little  volume  I  have  made  an  attempt  to 
present  in  popular  form  the  results  of  the  latest  re 
searches  in  regard  to  the  life  and  work  of  Columbus. 

While  constant  use  has  been  made  of  the  original 
authorities,  it  has  been  my  effort  to  interpret  the  con 
flicting  statements  with  which  these  sources  abound, 
in  the  spirit  of  modern  criticism.  The  principal 
authorities  used  have  been  the  Letters  and  the  Jour 
nal  of  Columbus,  the  History  of  the  Admiral  purport 
ing  to  be  by  his  son  Fernando,  the  histories  of  the 
time  by  Las  Casas,  Bernaldez,  Oviedo,  Peter  Martyr, 
and  Herrera,  and  the  invaluable  collection  of  docu 
ments  by  Navarrete.  Of  the  greatest  importance  are 
the  writings  of  Columbus  and  Las  Casas. 

As  will  appear  in  the  course  of  the  volume,  the 
writings  of  the  Admiral  abound  in  passages  that  are 
contradictory  or  irreconcilable.  In  the  interpretation 
of  conflicting  statements,  assistance  has  been  received 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

from  the  numerous  writings  of  Henry  Harrisse.  The 
researches  of  this  acute  critic  in  the  manuscript  re 
cords,. as  well  as  in  the  published  writings  of  Italy  and 
Spain,  make  his  works  indispensable  to  a  correct  un 
derstanding  of  the  age  of  Columbus. 

I  have  not,  however,  been  able  to  adopt  without 
reservation  his  views  in  regard  to  the  work  attributed 
to  the  son  of  the  Admiral.  The  force  of  Harrisse's 
reasoning  is  unquestionable ;  but,  as  it  seems  to  me, 
there  is  internal  evidence  that  the  author  of  the  book, 
whether  Fernando  or  not,  had  unusual  opportunities 
for  knowledge  in  regard  to  the  matters  about  which 
he  wrote.  While,  therefore,  I  have  used  the  work  with 
great  caution,  I  have  not  felt  justified  in  rejecting  it 
as  altogether  spurious. 

The  reader  will  not  go  far  in  the  perusal  of  this 
volume  without  perceiving  that  I  have  endeavoured  to 
emancipate  myself  from  the  thraldom  of  that  uncriti 
cal  admiration  in  which  it  has  been  fashionable  to 
hold  the  Discoverer,  ever  since  Washington  Irving 
threw  over  the  subject  the  romantic  and  bewitching 
charm  of  his  literary  skill.  Irving  revealed  the  spirit 
with  which  he  wrote  when  he  decried  what  he  was 
pleased  to  call  "  that  pernicious  erudition  which  busies 
itself  with  undermining  the  pedestals  of  our  national 
monuments."  Irving's  was  not  the  spirit  of  modern 


PREFACE.  ix 

scholarship.  We  should  seek  the  truth  at  whatever 
hazard.  While  directed  by  this  motive  in  the  course 
of  all  my  investigations  into  the  life  and  work  of 
Columbus,  I  have  tried,  on  the  one  hand,  to  avoid  the 
common  error  of  bringing  him  to  the  bar  of  the  pres 
ent  age  for  trial,  and,  on  the  other,  not  to  shrink  from 
judging  him  in  accordance  with  those  canons  of  jus 
tice  which  are  applicable  alike  to  all  time. 


C.  K.  A. 


CORNELL  UNIVERSITY, 

March  10,  1892. 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS. 


PAGES 

CHAPTER  I.     EARLY  YEARS.     [1446-1484]     .     1-33 

Genoa,  i.  —  Place  of  Birth,  2.  —  Time  of  Birth,  4.  —  Family, 
6.  —  Early  Studies,  7. — Early  Maritime  Experience,  9.  —  Pi 
ratical  Expeditions,  10. —  Voyage  to  Africa,  11.  —Voyage  to 
Iceland,  12.  —  Experience  as  Bookseller  and  Mapmaker,  14. 

—  Removal  to   Portugal,  16.  —  Marriage,   17.  —  Children,    19. 

—  Commercial  Speculation,  21.  — Extent  of  his  Experience, 
21.  —  Theory  of  the  Sphericity  of  the  Earth,  23.  —  Progress  of 
the   Idea,  25. —  Cardinal  d'Ailly's  Imago  Mundi,  27.  —  Causes 
of  Delay,  27.  —  Discoveries  by  the   Norsemen,   28.  —  Tosca- 
nelli's  Letters,   29.  —  General  Approaches   to  the  Discovery, 
32. 

CHAPTER  II.      ATTEMPTS  TO  SECURE  ASSIST 
ANCE.  [1484-1492]   ........     34-73 

Necessity  of  Assistance,  34.  —  Improbability  that  he  applied 
to  Genoa  and  Venice,  35.  —  Applications  to  Portugal,  Eng 
land,  and  France,  36  —  Attitude  of  Portugal,  37.  —  Departure 
01  Columbus  for  Spain,  41.  —  Course  after  reaching  Spain,  43. 

—  Condition  of  Spain,  44.  —  Inquisition,  44.  —  Plague,  45. — 
Debasement  of  the  Coin,  45. —  War  against  the  Moors,  46. — 
Support  of  Columbus,  47.  —  First  Encouragement,  48.  —  Au 
dience  at   Salamanca,  49. —  Nature  of  the   Discussion,  52. — 
Friendliness  of  Deza,  53.  —  Result,  53.  —  Delays,  53.  —  Occu- 


xii 


TABLE   OF  CONTENTS. 


pations  of  the  Court,  54.  —  Thought  of  going  elsewhere,  55 

—  Summons  to  a  New  Conference,  56.  —  Stipends  of  Money, 
'57.  —  Visit   to    Portugal,    57.  —  Visit    to   Medina  Celi,  58.— 
Opinions  of  Scientific  Men,  60. — Disgust  of  Columbus,  61. 

—  Visit  to  La  Rabida,  62.  —  Service  of  Perez,  63.  —  Favour 
able  Inclination  of  the  Court,  64.  —  Inadmissible  Terms  de 
manded,  65.—  Story  of  the  Jewels,  67. —  Successful  Repre 
sentations,   67. —  Columbus   secures    his   Commission,  68.  — 
Misfortune  of   these    Extraordinary  Powers,  70.  —  Survey  of 
Sources  of  Assistance,  72. 

CHAPTER  III.     THE   FIRST  VOYAGE.   [Aug. 

3,   1492 -March  15,  1493]    ....     74-128 

,Crew  for  the  First  Voyage,  74.  — The  Vessels,  76.  —  Setting 
sail,  77.  —  Columbus's  Diary  and  Letters,  77.  —  Repairs  of  the 
"Pinta,"  79. —  Traditions  of  the  Islanders,  80.  —  On  the  Voy 
age,  82.  —  Report  of  Land,  84.  —  Indications,  84.  —  Probable 
Truth  concerning  a  Mutinous  Spirit,  85.  —  Columbus  reports 
a  Light,  86.  —  Discovery  of  Land,  October  12, 87.  —  The  Place 
of  Landing,  88.  —  Cronau's  Investigations,  89.  —  Riding  Rocks, 
91.  —  The  People,  92.  —  Explorations,  93.  —  Cuba,  94.  —  San 
Domingo,  94. —  Shipwreck,  95.  —  La  Navidad,  96.  —  Spirit 
of  the  Natives,  97.  —  Sail  for  Home, '98.  —  Spirit  of  the  Dis 
coverer,  98. —  Quest  for  Gold,  99. —  Slender  Foundation  of 
Promises,  100.  —  Attitude  of  Columbus  toward  his  Crew  and 
toward  the  Natives,  100.  —  Testimony  of  Las  Casas,  104. — 
Final  Departure,  105.  —  The  Caribs,  106.  —  Salt-pits,  107. — 
Return  of  the  "Pinta,"  107.  —  Last  of  the  Bahamas,  108.  —  Fu 
rious  Storms,  1 08.  —  Precautions,  109.  —  Pilgrimages  promised, 
no.  —  The  Azores,  no. —  Lisbon,  in. —  Couriers  sent  to 
announce  Discoveries,  in.  — Claims  of  Portugal,  112.  —  Treaty 
of  1479,  112. — Treatment  by  the  King  of  Portugal,  114. — 
Reaches  Palos,  March  15,  1493,  115.  —  Arrival  of  the  "Pinta," 
115.  —  Sad  end  of  Pinzon,  116.  —  Reception  of  Columbus  at 
Barcelona,  118.  —  Renewal  of  Authority,  120.  —  Unwarranted 
Promises,  121. —  Resolves  to  retake  Jerusalem,  121. —  Hos 
tility  of  Old  Nobility,  121.  — Announcement  to  the  Pope,  122. 


TABLE   OF  CONTENTS.  xin 

—  Bull   of    Demarcation,    123.  —  Preparation    for   a    Second 
Voyage,  124.  —  Policy  of  Confiscation,  125.  —  Diplomatic  Con 
troversy  with  Portugal,  126. — Triumph  of  Spain,  128.  —  Re 
moval  of  Line  of  Demarcation,  128. 

CHAPTER  IV.     THE  SECOND  VOYAGE.   [Sept. 

25>  i493~June  ii,  J496]      .     -     -     .129-170 

Character  of  the  Crew,  129.  —  The  Grand  Canary,  130. — 
The  Caribbees,  130. —  Warlike  Character  of  the  Natives,  131. 

—  Sailing  for  La  Navidad,  133.  —  Gloomy   Forebodings,  135. 

—  Total   Loss  of  the  Colony,  135.  —  Causes  of  the  Disaster, 
136.  —  The  Domain  of  Caonabo,  137.  —  Final  Conflict,  138. — 
Visit  to  the  Admiral's  Ship  by  the  Cacique,  138.  —  Treachery, 
139.  —  Founding   of   Isabella,    140.  —  Defective   Character   of 
the    Colonists,    140. —  Illness   of    Columbus,    141. —  General 
Purpose,   141. — The   Expedition  of  Ojeda,  141.  —  Report  of 
Columbus,   142.  —  Dishonest   Contractors,  143.  —  Proposal  of 
Columbus  concerning  Slaves,    144.  —  Mining  Hopes,  147.  — 
Peculiarities  of  the  Natives,  148.  —  Prevailing  Distresses,  151. 

—  Columbus  visits  Cuba,  152.  —  Oath  of  Sailors,  154.  —  Other 
Discoveries,  155.  —  Illness  of  the  Admiral,  155.  —  Margarite, 
156.  —  General  Condition  of  the  Colony,   158.  —  Capture  of 
Caonabo,  158.  —  Enforcement  of  Tribute,  160.  —  Repartimien- 
tos,  161.  —  Desperate  Situation,  162.  —  Mutiny,  164.  —  Father 
Boyle,  165.  —  The  Adelantado,  165.  —  Investigation  of  Agnado, 
167.  —  Decision  of  the  Admiral  to  return,  169. 

CHAPTER  V.      THE  THIRD  VOYAGE.     [May 

30,  1498 -October  1500]     ....   171-204 

Arrival  Home,  171.  —  Reception  by  the  Monarchs,  172. — 
Delay  in  fitting  out  the  Third  Expedition,  174.  —  Sailing  of  the 
Fleet,  177.  —  Discovery  of  the  Mainland,  178. — Geographi 
cal  Delusions,  180.  —  Condition  of  Affairs  at  San  Domingo, 
183.  —  Bartholomew's  Expedition  to  Xaragua,  185.  —  Desper 
ate  Situation,  187.  —  Roldan's  Revolt,  188.  —  Temporary  Agree- 


xiv.  TABLE   OF  CONTENTS. 

ment,  191. —  Return  of  Ojeda,  193.  —  Cargo  of  Slaves,  194. — 
Charges  against  Columbus,  199.  —  Arrival  of  Bobadilla,  200.  — 
Bobadilla  assumes  Authority,  201.  —  Charges  against  Colum 
bus,  202.  —  Arrest  of  Columbus,  203.  —  Columbus  sent  Home 
in  Chains.  204. 

CHAPTER  VI.     THE  FOURTH  VOYAGE.   [May 

9,  1502 -Nov.  7,  1504] 205-234 

Reception  by  the  Public,  205.  —  Attitude  of  the  Monarchs, 
206.  —  Speech  of  the  Queen,  207.  —  The  Letter  of  Columbus, 
210. — Character  of  the  Settlers,  211. — Gradual  Opening  of 
the  Islands  to  other  Navigators,  212.  —  General  Maritime 
Activity,  213.  —  Policy  of  Ferdinand,  215. —  Appointment  of 
Ovando,  215.  —  Character  of  the  Fourth  Crew,  216.  —  The 
Crusade,  218.  — Activity  of  the  Portuguese,  218.  —  Sets  sail  on 
Fourth  Voyage,  219.  —  Tries  to  land  at  San  Domingo,  220. 
—  Successive  Storms,  221.  —  Desires  of  the  Admiral,  223.— 
Reaches  the  Mainland,  225.  —  At  Darien,  226.  — Gold  of  Vara- 
gua,  226.  —  Attacked  by  Natives,  227. — Failure  to  found  a 
Colony,  227.  —  Two  Vessels  reach  Jamaica,  228.  —  Wreck  of 
the  Vessels,  229.  —  Starvation  impending,  229.  —  Letter  to  the 
King,  230.  —  Departure  of  Mendez,  231.  —  Strategy  of  Colum 
bus,  232.  —  Attitude  of  Ovando,  233.  —  A  Year  of  Delays, 
234.  —  Return  to  San  Domingo  and  Spain,  234. 


CHAPTER  VH.    LAST  DAYS.  —  DEATH,  CHAR 
ACTER.     [1504-1506] 235-257 

Columbus  at  Seville,  235.  —  His  Letters,  236.  —  His  Com 
plaints,  237. —  Americus  Vespucius,  237.  —  Columbus's  Last 
Will,  238.  — Death,  at  Valladolid,  239  — Uncertainty  as  to 
Place  of  Burial,  239.  —  Removal  to  Seville,  239.  —  Removal  to 
San  Domingo,  239.  —  Controversy  as  to  Place  of  the  Remains  at 
present,  240.  —  Tradition,  240  — Removal  in  1796,241.  —  Dis 
coveries  in  1877,241. — The  Inscriptions,  242. — The  Casket 
Plate,  242. —  Formal  Inspection,  244.  —  Charge  of  Forgery, 


TABLE   OF  CONTENTS.  xv 

245.  —  Basis  of  the  Charge,  246.  —  Investigations  of  Cronau 
in  1891,  246.  —  Conclusion  reached,  247.  —  Personal  Appear 
ance  of  the  Admiral,  248.  — The  Portraits,  249. —  The  Lotto 
Portrait,  250.  —  Final  Estimate  of  Columbus's  Character,  251. 
—  His  Attitude  toward  the  Moral  Ideas  of  his  Age,  252.  —  His 
Attitude  toward  Slavery,  253. —  His  Beginning  of  the  Spanish 
Policy,  254.  —  His  Powers  and  his  Responsibilities,  255. —  His 
Purposes,  256.  —  Results,  257. 


INDEX 259 


CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS 


CHAPTER   I. 

EARLY    YEARS. 

AT  the  northwest  corner  of  the  Italian  peninsula  the 
coast-line,  as  it  approaches  the  French  border,  bends 
around  to  the  west  in  such  a  way  as  to  form  a  kind  of 
rounded  angle,  which,  according  to  the  fertile  fancy 
of  the  Greeks,  resembles  the  human  knee.  It  was 
probably  in  recognition  of  this  geographical  peculi 
arity  that  the  hamlet  established  at  this  point  received 
some  centuries  before  the  Christian  era  the  name 
which  has  since  been  evolved  into  Genoa.  The  situ 
ation  is  not  only  one  of  the  most  picturesque  in 
Europe,  but  it  is  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  develop 
ment  of  a  small  maritime  city.  For  many  miles  it  is 
the  only  point  at  which  Nature  has  afforded  a  good 
opportunity  for  a  harbor.  Its  geographical  relations 
with  the  region  of  the  Alps  and  the  plains  of  northern 
Italy  seem  to  have  designated  it  as  the  natural  point 
where  a  common  desire  for  gain  should  bring  into 
profitable  relations  the  trading  propensities  of  the 
people  along  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean. 
During  nearly  two  thousand  years  the  situation  was 


2  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

made  all  the  more  favourable  by  the  ease  with  which 
it  might  be  defended ;  for  the  range  of  mountains, 
which  encircles  it  at  a  distance  of  only  a  few  miles, 
made  it  easy  for  the  inhabitants  to  protect  themselves 
against  the  assaults  of  their  "enemies. 

The  favouring  conditions  thus  afforded  gave  to 
Genoa  early  in  the  Christian  era  a  commercial  pres 
tige  of  some  importance.  The  turbulence  of  the 
Middle  Ages  made  rapidity  of  growth  quite  impos 
sible  ;  but  in  the  time  of  the  Crusades  this  pictu 
resque  city  received  a  large  share  of  that  impulse  which 
gave  so  much  life  to  Venice  and  the  other  maritime 
towns  of  Italy.  Like  other  cities  of  its  kind,  it  was 
filled  with  seafaring  men.  It  is  easy  to  believe  that 
the  boys  who  grew  up  in  Genoa  during  the  centuries 
of  the  Crusades  and  immediately  after,  had  their  im 
aginations  and  memories  filled  to  overflowing  with 
accounts  of  such  wonderful  adventures  as  those  which, 
about  that  time,  found  expression  in  the  writings  of 
Marco  Polo  and  John  de  Mandeville.  The  tales  of 
seafaring  adventurers  always  have  a  wonderful  attrac 
tion  for  boys  ;  and  we  can  well  imagine  that  the  yarns 
spun  by  the  returning  sailors  of  the  fourteenth  and 
fifteenth  centuries  had  an  altogether  peculiar  and 
exceptional  fascination. 

It  was  probably  in  this  city  of  Genoa  that  Chris 
topher  Columbus  was  born.  It  is  certain  that  his 
parents  lived  there  at  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  cen 
tury.  Whether  his  father  had  been  in  Genoa  very 
many  years  is  doubtful ;  for  there  is  one  bit  of  record 
that  seems  to  indicate  his  moving  into  the  city  at 


EARLY  YEARS.  3 

some  time  between  1448  and  1451.  That  the  ances 
tors  of  the  family  had  lived  in  that  vicinity  ever  since 
the  twelfth  or  thirteenth  century  may  be  regarded  as 
certain.  But  beyond  this  fact  very  little  rests  upon 
strict  historical  evidence.  This  uncertainty,  springing 
as  it  does  from  the  fact  that  the  name  Columbus  ap 
pears  very  often  in  the  records  of  northern  Italy  dur 
ing  the  century  before  the  birth  of  Christopher,  has 
brought  into  controversy  a  multitude  of  importunate 
claimants.  If  a  kind  of  selfish  pride  was  indicated 
by  the  fact  that  — 

"  Seven  cities  claimed  the  Homer  dead, 
In  which  the  living  Homer  begged  his  bread,"  — 

the  same  characteristic  of  human  nature  was  shown  in 
northern  Italy  in  more  than  two-fold  measure  ;  for  no 
less  than  sixteen  Italian  towns  have  tried  to  lift  them 
selves  into  greater  importance  by  setting  up  a  claim 
to  the  distinction  of  having  been  the  birthplace  of  the 
Great  Discoverer.  But  these  several  claims  have  not 
succeeded  in  producing  any  conclusive  evidence.  The 
question  is  still  in  some  doubt.  At  least  twice  in  his 
writings  Columbus  speaks  of  himself  as  having  been 
born  at  Genoa  •  and  he  was  generally  recognized  as 
a  Genoese  by  his  contemporaries.  But  his  parents 
seem  to  have  been  somewhat  migratory  in  their 
habits.  The  records  show  that  the  father  of  Christo 
pher  was  the  owner  of  some  property  in  several  of 
the  towns  along  the  foot  of  the  Alps.  Besides  his 
other  estates,  which  for  the  most  part  came  from  his 
wife,  he  had  a  house  in  one  of  the  suburbs  of  the  city 


4  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

of  Genoa,  and  also  one  in  the  city  itself.  Within  a 
few  years  the  Marquis  Marcello  Staglieno,  a  learned 
Genoese  antiquary,  has  established  the  fact  that  No. 
37  Vico  Dritto  Ponticello  in  Genoa  was  owned  by 
Dominico  Columbus,  the  father  of  Christopher,  during 
the  early  years  of  Christopher's  life.  But  it  has  not 
yet  been  shown  by  any  documentary  evidence  that  he 
ever  lived  there.  The  ownership  of  this  house,  and 
of  one  in  the  suburbs,  establishes  a  very  strong  proba 
bility  that  in  one  of  them  Christopher  Columbus  was 
born.  It  cannot  be  said,  however,  that  the  exact 
spot  has  been  determined  with  certainty ;  and  in  view 
of  the  conflicting  evidence,  Genoa  is  to  be  regarded 
as  the  place  of  his  birth  only  in  that  broad  sense 
which  would  include  a  considerable  number  of  the 
surrounding  dependencies.  Bernaldez,  Peter  Martyr, 
Oviedo,  and  Las  Casas  speak  of  his  birthplace  as 
being,  not  the  city,  but  the  province  of  Genoa. 

The  original  authorities,  moreover,  are  as  conflict 
ing  in  regard  to  time  as  in  regard  to  place.  The 
most  definite  statement  we  have  is  that  of  Bernaldez, 
the  contemporary  and  friend  as  well  as  the  historian 
of  the  discoverer.  Columbus  at  one  time  was  an  in 
mate  of  the  house  of  Bernaldez,  and  hence  it  would 
seem  that  the  historian  had  good  opportunities  for 
ascertaining  the  truth.  But  the  information  he  gives 
in  regard  to  the  date  of  Columbus's  birth  is  only 
inferential,  and  is  far  from  satisfactory.  He  says 
that  the  Admiral  died  in  1506,  "at  the  age  of  sev 
enty,  a  little  more  or  a  little  less."  This  is  the  state 
ment  which  has  led  Humboldt,  Navarrete,  and  Irving, 


EARLY  YEARS.  5 

as  well  as  other  careful  writers,  to  believe  that  the 
date  of  his  birth  should  be  fixed  at  1436.  But  the 
acceptance  of  this  date  is  involved  in  serious  difficul 
ties.  The  discoverer,  it  is  true,  nowhere  tells  us  his 
exact  age  ;  but  frequently  in  his  writings  he  not  only 
mentions  the  number  of  years  he  had  followed  the 
sea,  but  he  says  he  began  his  nautical  career  at  the 
age  of  fourteen.  These  several  statements,  put  together, 
point  very  definitely  and  consistently  to  a  date  nearly 
or  quite  ten  years  later  than  that  indicated  by  Bernal- 
dez.  It  cannot  be  claimed  that  the  statements  of 
Columbus  are  so  exact  as  to  be  absolutely  free  from 
doubt ;  but  in  the  absence  of  any  record  of  his  birth, 
they  are  at  least  entitled  to  careful  consideration.  In 
a  letter  written  in  1503  the  Admiral  says  that  he  was 
thirty-eight  when  he  entered  the  service  of  Spain.  As 
he  first  went  to  Spain  in  1484  or  1485,  we  are  obliged 
to  infer  that  the  service  he  referred  to  began  either  in 
that  year  or  at  a  later  period.  This  would  indicate 
that  he  was  born  in  1446  or  later.  In  1501,  more 
over,  he  wrote  that  it  was  forty  years  since  at  the  age 
of  fourteen  he  entered  upon  a  seafaring  life.  This, 
too,  would  point  to  about  1447  as  the  date  of  his 
birth.  These,  and  other  statements  of  a  similar  na 
ture,  are  at  least  enough  to  justify  the  inquiry  whether 
the  error  is  probably  with  Columbus  or  with  Bernal- 
dez.  In  the  case  of  the  historian,  the  very  phrase 
"  seventy,  a  little  more  or  a  little  less,"  carries  with  it 
an  implication  of  uncertainty.  It  seemed  to  imply 
that  the  author  judged  of  the  age  of  Columbus  simply 
from  his  appearance.  Now,  there  is  abundant  evi- 


6  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS. 

dence  that  the  superabounding  anxieties  and  perplex 
ities  of  his  career  had  the  natural  effect  of  making 
him  prematurely  old.  We  have  the  statement  of  his 
son  that  his  hair  was  gray  at  the  age  of  thirty ;  and  it 
is  easy  to  believe  that  the  perplexing  vicissitudes  of 
his  career  deepened  and  intensified  the  evidences  of 
age  with  unnatural  rapidity.  If,  as  we  have  so  often 
and  so  justly  heard,  it  is  anxiety  and  perplexity  that 
bring  on  premature  age  and  decay,  surely  Columbus 
of  all  men  must  have  been  old  long  before  he  reached 
the  goal  of  threescore  and  ten.  In  view  of  all  these 
facts,  it  is  probable  that  the  conjecture  of  Bernaldez 
was  incorrect,  though  very  naturally  so,  and  that  the 
date  indicated  by  the  figures  of  Columbus  himself  is 
the  one  that  is  entitled  to  most  credence.  But  all  we 
can  say  on  the  subject  is  that  Christopher  Columbus 
was  probably  born  in  or  about  the  year  1446.  Har- 
risse,  who  has  scrutinized  all  the  evidence  with  char 
acteristic  acumen,  has  reached  the  conclusion  that 
Columbus  was  born  between  the  25th  of  March, 
1446,  and  the  2Oth  of  March,  1447. 

He  was  the  eldest  son  of  Dominico  Columbus  and 
Susannah  Fontanarossa,  his  wife.  The  other  chil 
dren  were  Bartholomew  and  Giacomo,  or,  as  the 
Spanish  call  it,  Diego,  and  a  sister,  of  whom  nothing 
of  importance  is  known.  The  kith  and  kin  of  the 
family  for  some  generations  devoted  themselves  to 
the  humble  vocation  of  wool-combers.  The  property 
of  the  family,  of  which  at  the  time  Columbus  was 
born  there  was  barely  enough  for  a  modest  compe 
tency,  appears  to  have  come  chiefly  from  the  mother. 


EARLY   YEARS.  7 

That  the  father  was  a  man  of  exceptional  energy,  is 
evinced  by  the  vigour  with  which  he  undertook  and 
carried  on  the  various  enterprises  with  which  he  was 
connected.  In  his  business,  however,  he  was  only 
moderately  prosperous  ;  and  so  the  family  was  obliged 
to  content  itself  with  a  small  income. 

The  early  life  of  Columbus  is  still  quite  thickly 
enshrouded  with  uncertainty.  His  education  in 
cluded  a  reading  knowledge  of  Latin,  but  his  train 
ing  could  have  been  neither  comprehensive  nor 
thorough.  Many  of  the  historians,  resting  upon  the 
statement  of  Fernando  Columbus,  assert  that  he 
spent  a  year  in  the  study  of  cosmogony  at  the  Uni 
versity  of  Pavia.  But  the  statement  is  inherently 
improbable,  and  rests  upon  evidence  that  is  altogether 
inadequate.  His  father  was  not  in  condition  to  send 
him  to  the  university  without  inconvenience.  It  was 
the  custom  of  those  times  for  the  son  to  be  trained 
for  the  vocation  of  the  father.  Such  a  training  the 
young  Christopher  had,  and  a  formal  knowledge  of 
geography,  or  cosmogony,  as  the  study  was  then  more 
generally  called,  would  not  have  added  much  to  his 
chances  of  business  success.  If  he  went  to  the  uni 
versity  at  all,  he  must  have  concluded  his  studies 
before  he  was  fourteen.  Pavia  at  the  time  afforded 
no  special  advantages  for  the  prosecution  of  this 
study,  —  indeed,  it  cannot  now  be  discovered  that  it 
possessed  any  advantages  whatever.  On  the  con 
trary,  that  celebrated  university  was  devoted  with 
singular  exclusiveness  to  the  teaching  of  philosophy, 
law,  and  medicine.  There  is  no  evidence  in  the 


8  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

records  of  the  university  that  Columbus  was  ever 
there.  The  explorer  himself,  though  he  often  refers 
to  his  early  studies,  nowhere  intimates  that  he  was 
ever  at  the  university.  It  was  not  till  more  than 
fifty  years  after  the  death  of  Columbus  that  his  son 
made  the  statement  on  which  all  subsequent  asser 
tions  on  the  subject  rest  for  authority.  That  the 
explorer  was  ever  at  the  university  is  overwhelmingly 
improbable. , 

**  We  know,  however,  from  the  best  of  evidence  that 
he  early  became  interested  in  geographical  studies. 
His  father's  business  does  not  seem  to  have  been 
very  prosperous,  —  at  least,  we  find  him  about  this 
time  selling  out'  his  little  property  in  Genoa  and 
establishing  himself  at  Savona.  Meantime,  the  youth 
ful  Christopher  found  himself  yielding  to  the  strong 
current  which  in  those  years  carried  so  many  of  the 
Genoese  into  a  life  of  maritime  adventure.  If  our 
conjecture  in  regard  to  the  time  of  his  birth  is  cor 
rect,  it  was  about  1460  when  he  took  his  first  voyage. 
From  that  initiative  experience  for  about  ten  years, 
that  is  to  say  until  1470,  we  have  only  glimpses  here 
and  there  of  the  events  of  his  life.  Nor  can  we 
regard  the  details  of  this  experience  as  important, 
except  as  they  throw  light  upon  the  development  of 
his  intelligence  and  character.  Fortunately  for  this 
purpose  evidence  is  not  altogether  wanting.  Bits 
of  information  have  been  picked  up  here  and  there, 
which,  though  it  is  impossible  to  weave  them  very 
confidently  into  a  connected  whole,  still  show,  in  a 
general  way,  the  nature  of  the  training  he  received 


EARLY  YEARS.  9 

during  those  important  years,  if  we  condense  into  a 
useful  form  all  that  is  positively  known  of  his  life 
during  the  ten  years  from  the  time  he  was  fourteen 
until  he  was  twenty- four,  we  shall  perhaps  conclude 
that  there  are  only  three  results  that  are  worthy  of 
note. 

The  first  is  the  fact  that  he  had  considerable  mari 
time  experience  of  a  very  turbulent  nature.  *  There 
is  some  reason  to  believe  that  he  accompanied  the 
unsuccessful  expedition  of  John  of  Anjou  against 
Naples  in  1459.  However  this  may  have  been,  it  is 
certain  that  he  joined  several  of  the  expeditions  of 
the  celebrated  corsairs  bearing  the  same  family  name 
of  Columbus.  Modern  eulogists  of  the  great  discov 
erer  have  hesitated  to  write  the  ugly  word  which 
indicates  the  nature  of  the  business  in  which  these 
much-dreaded  fleets  were  engaged;  but  the  state 
papers  of  the  time  uniformly  refer  to  the  elder  of 
these  commanders  as  "  the  Pirate  Columbus."  To 
the  younger  they  also  refer  in  no  more  complimentary 
terms.  Fernando  Columbus  is  authority  for  the  state 
ment  that  his  father  accompanied  the  celebrated  ex 
pedition  that  fought  the  great  battle  off  Cape  St. 
Vincent.  But  the  statement  is  a  curious  illustration 
of  the  necessity  of  accepting  the  assurances  of  this 
historian  with  extreme  caution.  He  says  that  it  was 
by  escaping  from  the  wreck  of  the  fleet  that  his 
father  came  for  the  first  time  to  his  new  home  in 
Portugal.  Now,  we  know  that  the  battle  alluded  to 
did  not  take  place  until  1485,  the  year  after  Colum 
bus  left  Portugal  and  went  to  Spain ;  and  as  he  was 


10  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

otherwise  occupied  ever  after  he  reached  Spanish  soil, 
it  is  not  possible  that  the  young  navigator  was  even 
with  the  fleet  during  the  engagement.  We  know, 
moreover,  that  he  moved  to  Lisbon  before  1473. 

But  the  evidence  is  conclusive  that  the  Admiral  had 
accompanied  the  piratical  fleets  on  several  former 
expeditions.  The  records  of  Venice  show  that  a  de 
cree  was  passed  against  the  elder  pirate  Columbus, 
July  20,  1469,  and  another  against  the  younger  on  the 
i  yth  of  March,  1470.  Although  these  Eliminations 
did  not  put  an  end  to  this  peculiar  warfare,  they  are 
of  interest  in  this  connnection  as  showing  the  school 
in  which  Columbus  received  a  considerable  part  of  his 
early  nautical  training  and  experience. 

There  may  be  some  doubt  as  to  how  much  im 
portance  should  be  attached  to  the  circumstantial 
statement  of  Fernando  in  regard  to  his  father's  con 
nection  with  these  celebrated  freebooters.  The  nar 
rative  certainly  contains  some  irreconcilable  contra 
dictions  ;  but  although  Fernando  may  have  been 
mistaken  in  the  details,  he  can  hardly  have  been 
mistaken  in  the  fact  that  his  father  accompanied 
several  of  these  expeditions.  A  matter  of  that  kind 
could  hardly  fail  to  have  been  talked  about  in  the 
presence  of  the  children.  The  boys  may  have  re 
ceived  erroneous  impressions  in  reference  to  details. 
As  time  went  on,  it  was  naturally  easy  for  events  with 
which  the  father  was  definitely  connected  to  become 
confused  with  those  with  which  he  had  nothing  what 
ever  to  do.  But  the  great  fact  of  his  connection 
with  the  fleet,  of  his  experience  on  the  piratical 


EARLY   YEARS.  II 

ships,  can  hardly  have  been  an  invention  of  the  son. 
There  were  two  pirates  by  the  name  of  Columbus,  — 
the  younger  being,  according  to  one  authority,  the 
son,  according  to  another,  the  nephew  of  the  elder. 
Fernando  gives  us  to  understand  distinctly  that  his 
father  was  engaged  in  the  service  of  both.  He  more 
over  considers  this  so  much  a  matter  of  pride  that 
he  endeavours  to  establish  the  fact  of  a  relationship 
between  the  two  families.  The  nature  of  the  school 
in  which  the  young  Columbus  received  a  part  of  his 
training  may  be  inferred  by  the  fact  that  the  younger 
of  the  corsairs  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  captured 
as  many  as  eighty  fleets,  —  a  part  of  them  in  the 
Mediterranean,  and  a  part  in  the  open  sea.  During  a 
large  portion  of  the  latter  half  of  the  fifteenth  cen 
tury,  these  daring  corsairs  were  the  dread  of  every 
fleet  against  whom  they  were  employed. 

There  is  also  evidence  of  another  schooling  of  a 
somewhat  similar  nature.  During  the  fifteenth  cen 
tury  the  Portuguese  were  engaged  in  the  slave-trade 
on  the  coast  of  Africa ;  and  we  are  told  that  Colum 
bus  sailed  several  times  with  them  to  the  coast  of 
Guinea  as  if  he  had  been  one  of  them. 

It  must  have  been  during  this  period  also  that  the 
events  occurred  which  Columbus  described  in  a  letter 
written  to  one  of  the  Spanish  monarchs  in  1495.  He 
says,  — 

"  King  Rend  (whom  God  has  taken  to  himself)  sent  me 
to  Tunis  to  capture  the  galley  '  Fernandina.'  Arriving  at 
the  island  of  San  Pedro  in  Sardinia,  I  learned  that  there 
were  two  ships  and  a  caracca  with  the  galley,  which  so 


12  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

alarmed  the  crew  that  they  resolved  to  proceed  no  far 
ther,  but  to  go  to  Marseilles  for  another  vessel  and  a 
larger  crew.  Upon  which,  being  unable  to  force  their 
inclinations,  I  apparently  yielded  to  their  wish,  and,  hav-- 
ing  first  changed  the  points  of  the  compass,  spread  all 
sail  (for  it  was  evening),  and  at  daybreak  we  were  within 
the  cape  of  Carthagena,  when  all  believed  for  a  certainty 
that  we  were  nearing  Marseilles." 

This  incident  shows  that  the  schooling  had  given 
him  a  full  competency  of  intrepidity.  It  also  shows 
that  the  ethics  of  the  school  had  had  the  natural 
effect  of  relieving  him  of  all  unnecessary  scruples  of 
conscience. 

Another  voyage  of  a  very  different  nature  was 
probably  made  at  a  little  later  period.  Unfortu 
nately  we  are  indebted  for  our  knowledge  of  it  en 
tirely  to  Fernando.  This  is  the  celebrated  voyage  to 
the  north,  of  which  so  much  has  been  made  in  set 
ting  up  the  claim  that  Columbus  was  indebted  for  his 
idea  of  America  to  information  obtained  in  Iceland. 
It  would  be  a  great  satisfaction  to  know  just  what 
occurred  in  the  course  of  that  voyage ;  but  this  now 
seems  impossible.  The  only  record  we  have  of  the 
event  is  that  contained  in  a  letter  of  Columbus  quoted 
by  Fernando.  The  letter  is  not  now  known  to  be  in 
existence ;  but  the  event  alluded  to  seems  to  have 
taken  place  in  the  year  1477,  about  four  or  five  years 
after  Columbus  went  to  Lisbon,  and  seven  years  before 
he  went  to  Spain. 

Columbus  is  quoted  as  saying  that  he  "  sailed  one 
hundred  leagues  beyond  the  island  of  Tile,  the  south 


EARLY   YEARS.  13 

part  of  which  was  distant  from  the  equinoctial  line 
seventy-three  leagues,  and  not  sixty-three,  as  some 
have  asserted ;  neither  does  it  lie  within  the  line 
which  includes  the  west  of  that  referred  to  by  Pto 
lemy,  but  is  much  more  westerly.  To  this  island, 
which  is  as  large  as  England,  the  English,  especially 
from  Bristol,  came  with  their  merchandise.  At  the 
time  he  was  there,  the  sea  was  not  frozen,  but  the 
tides  were  so  great  as  to  rise  and  fall  twenty-six 
fathoms." 

Nothing  more  is  known  of  this  voyage  than  is  con 
tained  in  this  letter;  but  notwithstanding  the  gross 
inaccuracies  of  the  statement,  it  seems  sufficient 
ground  for  believing  that  Columbus  visited  Iceland, 
or  at  least  went  beyond  it.  The  size  of  the  island 
indicates  that  it  could  have  been  no  other.  Whether 
he  landed  there,  and  if  so,  whether  he  obtained  from 
the  natives  any  knowledge  of  the  continent  lying  far 
to  the  west  and  southwest,  must,  perhaps,  forever  be 
a  matter  of  mere  conjecture.  It  is,  however,  hardly 
probable  that  in  the  year  1477  Columbus  would  go  to 
Iceland  without  making  inquiries  in  regard  to  lands 
lying  beyond.  The  Icelanders  had  long  been  the 
great  explorers  of  the  north.  As  we  shall  presently 
see,  Columbus  had  already  received  the  famous  letter 
of  Toscanelli,  in  which  the  practicability  of  reaching 
Asia  by  sailing  due  west  was  fully  set  forth  ;  and  we 
know  in  other  ways  that  the  mind  of  Columbus  was 
already  fully  imbued  with  the  idea  of  the  westward 
voyage  of  discovery.  It  is  certain,  moreover,  that  the 
Icelanders  could  have  given  him  considerable  valuable 


14  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

information.  The  voyages  that  had  been  made  by  the 
Norwegians  from  time  to  time  during  the  eleventh 
and  twelfth  centuries  must  have  been  kno\vn  at  least 
by  the  more  intelligent  of  the  people  of  Iceland.  It 
seems  highly  improbable,  moreover,  that  Columbus, 
already  thirsting  for  more  geographical  knowledge, 
would  visit  such  an  island  without  availing  himself  of 
every  opportunity  of  securing  further  information. 

But  on  the  other  hand,  we  must  not  exaggerate  the 
importance  of  this  conjecture.  There  is  no  evidence 
whatever  that  he  even  landed.  In  all  of  the  writings 
of  Columbus  there  is  nowhere  any  hint  of  any  know 
ledge  gained  from  these  sources ;  and  this  very  im 
portant  truth  should  not  be  lost  sight  of  in  the 
weighing  of  probabilities.  In  view  of  all  the  facts,  it 
seems  hardly  possible  that  Columbus  can  have  gained 
from  this  expedition  anything  more  than  at  best  a 
somewhat  vague  confirmation  of  the  ideas  and  pur 
poses  that  had  already  taken  definite  shape  in  his 
mind. 

Another  fact  worthy  of  note  during  these  earlier 
years  was  his  vocation  during  the  intervals  between 
his  voyages.  He  seems  to  have  interlarded  his  more 
or  less  piratical  expeditions  on  the  sea  with  the  gen 
tle  experiences  of  a  bookseller  and  map-maker  on  the 
land.  The  art  of  printing  had  but  recently  been 
invented,  and  few  books  had  been  issued  from  the 
press ;  but  there  was  some  trade  in  books  for  all  that. 
There  is  abundant  evidence  that  this  youthful  enthu 
siast,  at  the  period  of  his  life  between  fifteen  and 
twenty-four,  availed  himself  of  whatever  knowledge 


EARLY   YEARS.  15 

came  in  his  way  in  regard  to  the  subject  that  was^ 
beginning  to  fill  and  monopolize  his  mind.  During 
the  fifteenth  century,  as  hereafter  we  shall  have  occa 
sion  to  see,  a  large  number  of  books  on  geography 
became  generally  known.  Many  of  the  classics,  after 
lying  dormant  for  a  thousand  years,  sprang  suddenly 
into  life  ;  and  it  is  quite  within  the  scope  of  a  reason 
able  .historical  imagination  to  conjecture  that,  even 
during  his  years  at  Genoa,  many  of  the  leisure  hours 
of  what  could  hardly  have  been  a  very  absorbing 
vocation  as  a  bookseller  were  spent  in  gaining  such 
knowledge  as  was  possible  concerning  the  shape  and 
size  of  the  earth.  It  would  be  out  of  place  in  this 
connection  to  consider  details ;  it  is  enough  to  know 
that  even  in  his  earliest  writings  on  the  subject,  he 
alluded  freely  to  the  geographical  writers  whose  works 
he  had  read. 

At  some  time  between  1470  and  1473,  Columbus 
changed  his  abode  from  Genoa  to  Lisbon.  There 
were  two  facts  that  made  this  transfer  of  his  activities 
both  natural  and  beneficial.  The  first  was  that  dur 
ing  the  early  part  of  the  fifteenth  century  Portugal 
had  placed  herself  far  in  advance  of  other  nations,  by 
her  maritime  expeditions  and  achievements.  Prince 
Henry,  with  a  courage  and  enterprise  that  have  se 
cured  for  him  imperishable  renown,  had  pushed  out 
the  boundaries  of  geographical  knowledge,  and  had 
awakened  an  enthusiastic  zeal  for  further  discoveries. 
The  fleets  of  Portugal  had  made  themselves  at  length 
familiar  with  the  west  coast  of  Africa ;  and  the  bug 
bear  of  a  tropical  sea  whose  slimy  depths  were  sup- 


1 6  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

posed  to  make  navigation  impossible,  had  been 
dispelled.  The  interest  of  every  geographical  ex 
plorer  had  been  aroused  and  excited.  Lisbon  was 
the  centre  of  this  new  ferment. 

The  second  consideration  of  importance  was  the 
fact  that  Bartholomew,  a  younger  brother  of  Colum 
bus,  had  established  himself  at  the  Portuguese  capital 
as  a  maker  and  publisher  of  maps  and  charts.  •  For 
the  products  of  this  handicraft  there  had  been  created 
an  active  demand.  Nothing  was  more  natural,  then, 
than  that  this  young  enthusiast,  in  whom  there  were 
already  welling  up  all  kinds  of  maritime  ambitions, 
should  remove  to  that  centre  of  geographical  know 
ledge  and  interest,  and  ally  himself  with  his  brother 
in  so  congenial  and  promising  a  vocation. 

It  was  during  the  years  between  1473  and  1484 
that  a  large  part  of  the  maritime  experiences  of 
Columbus  already  adverted  to  took  place.  The  most 
of  them,  perhaps  all  of  them,  occurred  after  Colum 
bus  established  himself  at  Lisbon.  But  unfortunately, 
there  is  no  contemporaneous  evidence  to  show  the 
course  of  his  life.  In  the  records  of  the  time  we 
find  his  name  here  and  there  in  connection  with  such 
events  as  those  we  have  already  mentioned ;  but,  as 
yet,  it  is  impossible  to  weave  these  scattered  state 
ments  into  a  connected  narrative  that  will  bear  the 
test  of  critical  examination.  We  are  obliged,  there 
fore,  to  be  content  with  mere  glimpses  of  individual 
events  and  experiences. 

If  we  have  judged  correctly  as  to  the  year  of  the 
Admiral's  birth,  he  was  about  twenty-six  or  seven 


EARLY   YEARS.  17 

when  he  took  up  his  abode  in  Lisbon.  Not  long 
after  this  change  of  residence,  but  in  what  year  we 
cannot  ascertain,  an  event  took  place  which  must 
have  had  an  important  influence,  not  only  on  his 
private  life,  but  also  on  the  development  of  his  mari 
time  plans.  It  was  at  about  this  time  that  he  was 
married ;  but  when,  under  what  circumstances,  and 
with  whom,  are  questions  which,  notwithstanding  all 
that  has  been  written  on  the  subject,  cannot  now  be 
confidently  determined.  Following  the  statement  of 
Fernando,  it  has  been  customary  for  historians  to  say 
that  Columbus  married  the  daughter  of  an  old  navi 
gator  of  Porto  Santo,  Perestrello  by  name,  to  whom 
Prince  Henry  had  given  the  governorship  of  the 
island  in  recognition  of  explorations  and  discoveries 
on  the  coast  of  Africa.  But  like  so  many  other  of 
the  statements  of  Fernando,  this  turns  out  on  exami 
nation  to  be  extremely  improbable.  Harrisse  is  en 
titled  to  the  credit  of  having  traced  the  history  of  the 
Perestrello  family,  and  of  having  found  the  names  of 
the  daughters,  and  even  of  their  husbands.  Not  only 
is  the  name  Columbus  lacking  in  these  lists,  but  it 
contains  no  one  of  the  three  sisters  of  Columbus's 
wife.  This,  it  is  true,  is  negative  evidence  only,  but 
it  is  quite  enough  to  shake  our  confidence  in  the 
statement  of  Fernando.  Of  positive  evidence  there 
is  none  whatever.  The  first  mention  of  his  having 
been  married  at  all  occurs  in  a  letter  presently  to  be 
quoted ;  and  the  second  was  in  the  clause  of  his  will 
providing  for  the  saying  of  masses  for  his  soul  and  for 
the  souls  of  his  father,  mother,  and  wife.  This  docu- 
2 


i8  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

ment  bears  date  of  Aug.  25,  1505,  and  contains  no 
mention  of  his  wife's  name.  A  name  first  appears 
eighteen  years  later,  in  the  will  of  Diego,  who  calls 
himself  the  son  of  Christopher  Columbus  and  his  wife 
Donna  Philippa  Moniz.  Elsewhere  in  the  same  will 
he  refers  to  himself  as  the  son  of  Felipa  Muniz,  the 
wife  of  Columbus,  whose  ashes  repose  in  the  monas 
tery  of  Carmen  at  Lisbon.  It  is  possible  that  Moniz, 
or  Muniz,  was  not  the  father's  name ;  but  the  giving 
of  the  maiden  name  alone  in  such  a  connection  was 
not  usual  at  that  time,  and  therefore,  in  the  absence 
of  other  evidence,  it  would  seem  improbable  that  the 
name  given  was  the  surname  of  the  father.  It  was 
not  until  nearly  fifty  years  later  that  the  narrative 
of  Fernando  first  mentions  the  name  of  Perestrello. 
Las  Casas  and  other  later  writers  have  done  nothing 
but  copy  the  statement  of  Fernando,  without  further 
investigation.  The  matter  would  be  of  trifling  sig 
nificance  but  for  the  fact  that  later  historians 
have  magnified  this  supposed  marriage  into  a  mat 
ter  of  considerable  professional  importance.  Las 
Casas  tells  us  that  he  had  learned  from  Diego 
Columbus  that  the  Admiral  and  his  wife  lived  for 
some  time  with  the  widow  of  Perestrello  at  Porto 
Santo,  and  that  "  all  the  papers,  charts,  journals,  and 
maritime  instruments "  of  the  old  navigators  were 
placed  at  his  disposal.  But  all  the  evidence  of  this 
fact  now  obtainable  consists  simply  of  repetitions  of 
this  statement.  The  most  careful  search  of  all  the 
records  has  failed  to  discover  a  scrap  of  testimony  that 
Columbus  ever  lived  at  Porto  Santo  or  on  any  of 


EARLY   YEARS.  19 

the  other  islands  off  the  coast  of  Africa.  Harrisse  has 
devoted  more  than  thirty  octavo  pages  to  a  very  criti 
cal  examination  of  all  the  evidence  on  the  marriage  of 
Columbus ;  but  he  is  unable  to  reach  any  other 
positive  conclusion  than  that  very  many  of  the  early 
statements  in  regard  to  the  matter  cannot  pos 
sibly  be  correct.  As  the  result  of  his  investiga 
tions,  he  inclines  to  the  belief  that  the  story  of  the 
Admiral's  living  at  Porto  Santo  and  profiting  by  the 
maritime  possessions  and  experiences  of  Perestrello 
must  be  abandoned.  Beyond  the  fact  that  the  Ad 
miral's  wife  bore  the  name  of  Philippa  Moniz,  nothing 
on  the  subject  can  be  regarded  as  absolutely  known. 
It  seems  probable  that  Columbus  was  not  married  till 
after  1474  ;  but  the  exact  date  cannot  be  established. 
As  we  shall  not  have  occasion  to  refer  to  Colum- 
bus's  married  life  again,  one  fact  more  should  here  be 
noted.  Fernando  asserts  that  his  father  left  Portugal 
in  1484  on  account  of  the  grief  he  experienced  at  the 
death  of  his  wife.  That  the  statement  was  incorrect, 
is  shown  by  a  letter,  still  in  existence,  in  the  hand 
writing  of  the  Admiral  himself.  This  letter,  which 
was  written  to  Donna  Juanna  de  la  Torre,  a  noble  lady 
at  the  Spanish  court,  for  the  purpose  of  presenting 
his  cause  and  arguing  it  with  the  evident  expectation 
that  his  plea  would  reach  the  attention  of  the  sov 
ereigns,  finally  uses  these  words  :  — 

"  I  beg  you  to  take  into  consideration  all  I  have  writ 
ten,  and  how  I  came  from  afar  to  serve  these  princes, 
—  abandoning  wife  and  children,  whom  for  this  reason 
I  never  afterward  saw." 


20  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

This  lamentable  recital,  written  sixteen  years  after 
Columbus  left  Portugal  for  Spain,  and  at  least  nine 
years  after  he  presented  himself  with  his  son  Diego 
at  La  Rabida,  leaves  upon  our  minds  the  inevitable 
inference  that  when  he  fled  from  Portugal  in  1484, 
he  left  behind  him  a  wife  and  at  least  two  children. 
Of  his  legitimate  offspring,  his  heir  and  successor 
Diego  is  the  only  one  of  whom  any  record  has  been 
preserved.  As  we  shall  hereafter  have  occasion  to 
note,  Columbus  left  Portugal,  not  only  in  poverty,  but 
under  circumstances  which  made  it  imprudent  for 
him  to  return.  We  are  obliged  to  infer  that  his  wife 
and  children  were  left  in  indigence.  Neither  in  the 
numerous  writings  of  Columbus  nor  in  any  of  the 
records  of  the  time  is  there  any  allusion  to  the  death 
of  the  wife  or  of  the  children.  No  letter  that  passed 
between  husband  and  wife  has  ever  been  found. 
It  remains  only  to  add,  on  the  subject  of  his  con 
jugal  life,  that  Fernando,  the  historian,  was  the  nat 
ural  son  of  Columbus  by  a  Spanish  woman,  Beatriz 
Enriquez  by  name,  and  was  born  on  the  i5th  of 
August,  1488. 

Of  the  current  life  of  Columbus  at  Lisbon  we  know 
very  little.  He  seems  to  have  been  a  skilful  draughts 
man  and  map-maker, —  at  least,  in  one  of  his  letters  to 
the  Spanish  king  he  says  that  God  had  endowed  him 
with  "  ingenuity  and  manual  skill  in  designing  spheres 
and  inscribing  upon  them  in  the  proper  places  cities, 
rivers  and  mountains,  isles  and  ports."  Las  Casas 
and  Lopez  de  Gomera  both  assure  us  that  Columbus 
made  use  of  his  skill  as  a  means  of  livelihood. 


EARLY   YEARS.  21 

There  is  also  evidence  that  he  was  engaged  to  some 
extent  in  commercial  enterprise  or  speculation.  In 
his  will  he  ordered  considerable  sums  paid  to  the 
heirs  of  certain  noble  and  rich  Genoese  established 
in  Lisbon  in  1482, — giving  specific  direction  that 
they  should  not  be  informed  from  whom  the  money 
eame.  We  know  that  he  left  Portugal  secretly,  and 
that  the  king,  when  inviting  him  to  return,  assured 
him  immunity  from  civil  and  criminal  prosecution. 
It  has  been  plausibly  conjectured  that  in  the  course 
of  his  commercial  transactions  he  had  incurred  debts 
to  his  rich  countrymen  which  he  had  never  paid,  and 
that  at  the  last  moment  his  conscience  demanded 
absolution  from  these  obligations. 

Though  the  occasion  of  such  debts  is  purely  hypo 
thetical,  it  is  not  difficult  to  conjecture  how  they  may 
have  occurred.  In  the  fifteenth  century  the  com 
mercial  enterprise  and  opportunities  of  Lisbon  at 
tracted  thither  a  large  number  of  wealthy  Florentine 
and  Genoese  merchants.  We  are  informed  that 
they  were  engaged  in  various  commercial  ventures ; 
and  nothing  could  be  more  natural  than  that  they 
should  be  ready  to  avail  themselves  of  the  maritime 
skill  of  their  young  countryman.  In  the  journal  of 
Columbus,  under  the  date  of  Dec.  21,  1492,  he 
wrote  :  — 

"  I  have  navigated  the  sea  during  twenty-three  years, 
without  noteworthy  interruption ;  I  have  seen  all  the  Le 
vant  and  the  Ponent ;  what  is  called  the  Northern  Way,  — 
that  is  England;  and  I  have  sailed  to  Guinea." 

As  there  is  no  other  evidence  that  he  went  to  Eng 
land,  it  is  probable  that  the  allusion  here  is  to  that 


22  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

northern  voyage,  which,  as  we  have  already  seen, 
had  had  the  seas  about  Iceland  as  its  destination. 
Though  it  is  not  easy  to  conjecture  how  the  phrase, 
"  twenty-three  years  without  noteworthy  interruption," 
is  to  be  reconciled  with  what  we  elsewhere  learn  of 
the  years  just  before  1492,  yet  it  is  not  difficult  to 
understand  how  all  the  voyages  referred  to  may  have 
been  made  during  that  period.  Before  the  discovery 
of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  by  Bartholomew  Diaz  in 
December  of  1487,  the  remotest  navigable  sea  was 
not  far  away.  To  visit  the  North,  the  West,  or  the 
South  was  not  an  enterprise  of  long  duration  ;  and  the 
mariner  who  had  explored  the  Black  Sea,  the  Medi 
terranean,  the  Atlantic  from  the  equator  to  Iceland 
and  the  Baltic,  might  well  claim  to  be  familiar  with 
all  the  seas  that  were  navigable  to  a  European. 

Such  were  the  most  important  of  the  experiences, 
which,  so  far  as  we  can  now  know,  gave  form  and 
fibre  to  the  character  of  Columbus.  If  the  years 
were  full  of  turbulent  experiences,  it  is  evident  that 
they  were  also  years  full  of  absorbing  thought. 

Soon  after  Columbus  reached  Lisbon,  even  if  not  be 
fore,  he  became  possessed  with  the  great  idea  that  im 
portant  discoveries  could  be  made  by  sailing  due  west. 
Was  the  idea  original  with  him  ?  WTas  such  a  notion 
entertained  by  others?  These  questions,  on  which 
so  much  of  the  credit  of  Columbus  depends,  can 
only  be  answered  after  we  take  at  least  a  brief  survey 
of  the  geographical  knowledge  of  the  time. 

It  will  perhaps  never  be  known  who  first  pro 
pounded  the  theory  of  the  sphericity  of  the  earth  ; 
but  we  are  certain  that  it  was  systematically  taught  by 


EARLY   YEARS.  23 

the  Pythagoreans  of  southern  Italy  in  the  sixth  cen 
tury  before  Christ.  With  the  writings  of  Pythagoras, 
Plato  was  familiar,  and  perhaps  it  was  from  this  bold 
western  speculator  that  the  great  Athenian  philoso 
pher  received  the  impression  that  finally  ripened  into 
an  unquestioning  belief.  Pythagoras  believed  the 
earth  to  be  a  sphere,  and  his  views  and  theories  are 
set  forth  in  two  of  Plato's  works. 

But  it  was  the  great  successor  of  Plato  who  was  to 
have  the  credit  of  giving  these  views  systematic  form. 
In  a  treatise  "  On  the  Heavens  "  Aristotle  gave  a 
formal  summary  of  the  grounds  leading  to  a  belief  in 
the  earth's  sphericity. 

Greece  bequeathed  this  doctrine  to  Rome,  where 
it  was  specifically  taught  by  Pliny  and  Hyginus,  and 
was  referred  to  with  seeming  approval  by  Cicero  and 
Ovid.  From  the  literature  of  Rome  it  passed  into 
many  of  the  school-books  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

The  Greeks  and  Romans  were  fertile  as  specula 
tors,  but  as  navigators  they  really  did  very  little.  Not 
until  the  last  days  of  the  Republic  did  the  existence  of 
lands  beyond  the  sea  become  generally  known.  It  was 
in  the  time  of  Sulla  that  Sertorius  brought  back  the 
curious  story  that,  when  on  an  expedition  to  Baetica, 
he  fell  in  with  certain  sailors,  who  declared  that  they 
had  just  returned  from  the  Atlantic  islands,  which 
they  described  as  distant  ten  thousand  stadia,  or 
about  twelve  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  from  Africa,  and 
as  having  a  wonderful  flora  and  a  still  more  wonder 
ful  climate.  It  was  not  until  a  few  years  later  that 
the  Canaries  became  known  as  the  Fortunate  Islands. 


24  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

Notwithstanding  all  that  had  been  done  by  the  Tyri- 
ans  and  Carthaginians,  Pliny  refers  to  the  Pillars  of 
Hercules  as  the  limit  of  navigation. 

No  systematic  effort  to  extend  the  boundaries  of 
geographical  knowledge  can  be  attributed  to  the  Ro 
mans.  There  was  no  international  competition  in 
trade,  for  the  reason  that  Rome  had  come  to  be  self- 
reliant,  and,  in  theory  at  least,  to  possess  everything 
that  was  of  value.  Interest  therefore  was  purely 
speculative.  There  was  no  compass;  there  were 
none  but  small  ships. 

Added  to  this,  it  must  be  said  that  there  was  a  gen 
eral  and  vivid  horror  of  the  western  ocean.  Pindar 
declared  that  no  one,  however  brave,  could  pass  be 
yond  Gades ;  "  for  only  a  god,"  he  said,  "  might 
voyage  in  those  waters." 

The  views  of  the  Romans  were  set  forth  in  some 
what  systematic  form  by  Strabo  and  Pomponius  Mela. 
The  work  of  Mela,  written  during  the  first  half  of  the 
first  century,  had  considerable  influence  throughout 
the  Middle  Ages.  The  first  edition  was  printed  in 
1471  at  Milan,  and  this  was  followed  by  editions  at 
Venice  in  1478  and  1482. 

Of  far  greater  importance  were  the  writings  of 
Ptolemy.  Near  the  end  of  the  second  century  he 
not  only  brought  together  in  systematic  form  the 
ideas  of  those  who  had  gone  before  him,  but  he 
elaborated  and  set  forth  a  system  of  his  own.  His 
work  thus  became  a  great  source  of  geographical 
information  throughout  the  twelve  centuries  that 
were  to  follow.  The  book,  however,  scarcely  had 


EARLY   YEARS.  25 

any  popular  significance  before  the  fifteenth  century ; 
for  until  that  time  it  was  locked  up  within  the  mys 
teries  of  the  Greek  language.  But  in  1409,  a  ver 
sion  in  Latin  disseminated  his  views  throughout 
Europe. 

In  one  respect  the  theories  of  Ptolemy  were  excep 
tionally  important  in  their  bearing  upon  the  western 
discoveries.  It  was  his  belief  that  the  further  exten 
sion  of  geographical  knowledge  was  to  be  obtained  by 
pushing  the  lines  of  investigation  toward  the  west 
rather  than  toward  the  north  or  toward  the  south.  It 
is  of  significance  in  the  life  of  Columbus  that  the  first 
edition  of  Ptolemy  was  printed  in  1475,  and  that 
several  other  editions  were  issued  from  the  press 
before  1492.  It  is  also  of  interest  to  note  that  the 
views  promulgated  by  the  Alexandrian  geographer 
were  essentially  the  views  held  and  advocated  by 
Columbus. 

The  theologians  generally  rejected  the  idea  of 
sphericity.  There  were,  however,  some  very  notable 
exceptions.  The  doctrine  was  positively  taught  by 
Saint  Isadore  of  Seville,  and  was  somewhat  elaborately 
set  forth  by  the  Venerable  Bede.  Of  still  more  im 
portance  was  the  unquestioning  acceptance  of  this 
doctrine  by  that  great  protagonist  of  the  faith,  Saint 
Thomas  Aquinas.  Albertus  Magnus,  Roger  Bacon, 
and  Dante  seem  also,  in  a  more  or  less  definite  form, 
to  have  accepted  the  same  doctrine. 

In  any  account,  however  brief,  of  the  early  years  of 
Columbus,  a  statement  should  also  be  made  concern 
ing  some  of  the  explorers  who  had  performed  an 


26  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

important   part    in    pushing    out    the    boundaries    of 
knowledge. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  of  these  was  John  de 
Mandeville.  It  is  very  properly  the  fashion  to  regard 
this  audacious  romancer  as  one  of  the  most  unscru 
pulous  of  all  explorers.  It  is  certain  that  he  did  not 
see  a  quarter  or  perhaps  even  a  tenth  part  of  the 
things  which  he  affects  to  describe.  But  in  spite  of 
all  these  characteristics,  there  is  one  passage  in  the 
book  that  can  hardly  fail  to  have  made  a  deep  impres 
sion  on  the  mind  of  Columbus.  In  this  remarkable 
passage  the  author  relates,  in  the  quaint  language  of 
the  time,  how  he  himself  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  earth  was  a  sphere.  His  words  are,  — 

"  In  the  north  the  south  lodestar  is  not  seen;*and  in  the 
south,  the  north  is  not  seen. .  . .  By  which  say  you  certainly 
that  men  may  environ  all  the  earth,  as  well  under  as 
above,  and  turn  again  to  his  country,  and  always  find 
men  as  well  as  in  this  country.  .  .  .  For  ye  witten  well 
that  they  that  turn  toward  the  Antarctic,  be  straight  feet 
against  feet  of  them  that  dwell  under  the  transmontayne, 
as  well  as  we  and  they  that  dwell  under  us  be  feet 
against  feet." 

Of  still  more  importance  in  shaping  directly  or  in 
directly  the  opinions  of  Columbus  was  the  great  work 
of  Marco  Polo.  This  Venetian  traveller,  after  spend 
ing  many  years  in  China  and  Japan,  and  having  the 
best  of  opportunities  for  observation,  published  the 
great  work  on  which  his  reputation  as  a  traveller  and 
writer  is  founded.  He  not  only  described  with  con 
siderable  minuteness  the  countries  which  he  visited, 


EARLY   YEARS.  27 

but  he  pictured,  though  with  gross  exaggerations, 
the  great  wealth  of  many  of  the  eastern  cities.  Co 
lumbus  supposed  that  these  regions,  still  in  the  hands 
of  infidels,  could  be  reached  by  sailing  westward 
across  the  Atlantic. 

But  there  was  another  book  that  had  more  in 
fluence  upon  Columbus  than  all  the  others ;  and  this 
was  the  "  Imago  Mundi  "  of  Cardinal  d'Ailly.  It  was 
a  kind  of  encyclopaedia  of  geographical  knowledge,  in 
which  the  author  had  endeavoured  to  bring  together 
all  the  prevailing  views  in  regard  to  the  form  of  the 
earth.  In  the  copy  of  this  remarkable  book,  still  pre 
served  in  the  Columbian  Library  at  Seville,  there  are 
still  to  be  seen  numerous  marginal  annotations  by 
Columbus  himself.  These  notes  make  us  absolutely 
certain  that  the  navigator  studied  very  carefully 
and  early  became  familiar  with  the  beliefs  of  all 
the  geographical  writers  of  antiquity  and  of  the 
Middle  Ages. 

It  is  natural  to  ask  the  question  why,  if  the  earth 
was  known  to  be  spherical,  and  if  the  compass  was 
already  in  existence,  voyages  of  discovery  were  so  long 
delayed?  If  one  looks  at  the  geographical  works  of 
the  time,  one  sees  everywhere  taught  the  notion  that 
the  unknown  regions  were  peopled  with  monsters 
ready  to  devour  any  who  approached.  One  of  the 
pictures  in  the  Nuremberg  Chronicle,  for  illustration, 
represents  the  Atlantic  as  filled  with  monsters  so  huge 
as  to  be  able  and  ready  to  lift  any  ship  easily  upon 
its  back  and  dash  it  to  destruction.  The  Arabs  be 
lieved  and  taught  that  in  the  torrid  zone  the  moisture 


28  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

was  so  much  sucked  up  by  the  heat  of  the  sun  that 
the  residue  was  impervious  to  the  passage  of  ships. 
Popular  credulity  everywhere  seemed  to  gain  the 
mastery  over  science.  The  early  Anglo-Saxon  schol 
ars  believed  that  the  earth  was  a  globe ;  but  in  spite 
of  all  their  teaching,  we  find  in  an  early  Anglo- 
Saxon  tract,  intended  to  convey  abstruse  information 
in  the  form  of  a  dialogue,  the  following  question  and 
answer :  — 

"  Question :  Tell  me,  my  son,  why  the  sun  is  so  red  in 
the  evening  ? 

"Answer  :    Because  it  looketh  down  upon  hell." 

It  must  be  conceded  that  this  doctrine  was  suffi 
ciently  discouraging  to  western  navigation. 

It  should  not,  however,  be  forgotten  that  while 
views  concerning  the  sphericity  of  the  earth  were 
gradually  making  their  impression,  geographical 
knowledge  was  extending  itself  through  the  efforts 
of  explorers.  The  boldest  adventurers  were  gradu 
ally  pressing  their  way  into  the  far  north.  The 
inhabitants  of  Iceland  —  perhaps  from  their  geo 
graphical  isolation  —  were  especially  adventurous. 
Within  the  present  century  the  evidence  has  been 
made  complete  that  America  was  visited  and  ex 
plored  in  the  eleventh  century,  and  that  accounts 
of  these  explorations  in  detail  became  a  part  of  the 
national  literature.  But  Iceland  was  so  isolated  from 
the  rest  of  Europe  that  these  explorations  seem  to 
have  made  no  impression,  even  if  they  were  at  all 
known.  The  first  allusion  to  the  discovery  of  Amer- 


EARLY  YEARS.  29 

ica  by  the  Scandinavians  ever  printed  was  that  of 
Adam  von  Bremen,  in  his  work  issued  from  the  press 
at  Copenhagen  in  1579.  Although  the  work  had 
been  in  manuscript  for  centuries,  there  is  no  evi 
dence  that  these  explorations  made  any  impression 
upon  the  literature  or  knowledge  of  the  time.  If 
Columbus  visited  Iceland,  it  is  probable  that  he  be 
came  acquainted  with  the  traditions  of  these  western 
voyages.  It  is  of  course  possible  that  he  obtained 
positive  information  from  the  stories  that  may  have 
been  current  among  the  seafaring  men  of  Iceland 
in  the  fifteenth  century.  But  the  matter  is  left  in 
doubt  by  the  fact  that  no  such  knowledge  was  ever 
revealed  by  Columbus  after  his  return ;  and  it  hardly 
seems  probable  that  he  would  have  kept  such  an 
item  of  information  locked  up  in  his  own  brain  at  a 
time  when  he  was  trying  to  bring  every  argument 
to  bear  upon  the  Portuguese  and  Spanish  courts. 

While  these  numerous  intellectual  purveyors  were 
bringing  to  the  mind  of  Columbus  their  varied  stores 
of  information,  an  event  occurred  which  must  have 
had  a  powerful  influence  in  shaping  and  intensifying 
his  purpose. 

In  the  year  1474  there  was  living  at  Florence  the 
venerable  astronomer  and  geographer  Toscanelli. 
This  eminent  savant,  now  seventy-eight  years  of  age, 
after  having  enjoyed  the  honours  of  connection  with 
nearly  all  the  learned  societies  of  that  day,  had  been 
greatly  interested  in  the  recently  published  book  of 
Marco  Polo.  From  the  account  given  by  this  Vene 
tian  traveller,  Toscanelli  had  arrived  at  certain  inter- 


30  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

esting  views  in  regard  to  the  size  of  the  earth.  He 
had  satisfied  himself  that  the  open  water  between 
western  Europe  and  eastern  Asia  could  be  crossed 
in  a  voyage  of  not  more  than  three  thousand  miles. 
The  letters  of  Toscanelli  have  been  preserved,  and 
they  form  a  most  interesting  part  of  the  history  of 
this  period.  We  cannot  quote  from  them  at  any 
length,  but  the  importance  of  the  correspondence 
is  sufficient  to  justify  a  concise  statement  of  the  par 
ticular  significance  of  the  letters. 

In  the  first  place,  in  one  of  the  letters,  dated  in 
1474,  Toscanelli  says  that  he  had  already  written  to 
the  king  of  Portugal,  urging  upon  him  the  practica 
bility  of  reaching  Japan  and  China  by  sailing  directly 
west.  He  had  accompanied  this  statement,  more 
over,  with  a  map  showing  what,  in  his  opinion,  would 
be  found  in  the  course  of  the  proposed  voyage. 
Unfortunately,  the  original  map  of  Toscanelli,  so  far 
as  we  know,  has  not  been  preserved.  Copies  of  it, 
which  we  may  presume  to  be  substantially  accurate, 
however,  enable  us  to  form  a  sufficient  impression 
as  to  the  general  nature  of  his  geographical  views. 
He  had  no  conception  of  another  continent.  On 
the  contrary,  he  believed  that  the  eastern  part  of 
Asia,  excepting  as  it  was  fringed  with  Cipango 
(Japan)  and  other  islands,  presented  its  broad  and 
hospitable  front  to  any  navigator  bold  enough  to  sail 
two  or  three  thousand  miles  directly  west  from  Por 
tugal  or  Spain.  These  beliefs  are  important,  because 
they  are  the  identical  ones  afterward  held  by  Co 
lumbus,  not  only  at  the  time  of  his  first  voyage,  but 
also  even  until  the  day  of  his  death. 


EARLY  YEARS.  31 

Another  fact  indicated  in  the  Toscanelli  letters 
is  the  desire  expressed  by  Columbus,  showing  clearly 
that  as  early  as  1474,  three  years  before  the  reputed 
visit  to  Iceland,  he  had  formed  a  definite  purpose, 
if  possible,  to  visit  and  explore  the  unknown  regions 
of  the  east  by  sailing  west. 

Another  peculiarity  of  Toscanelli's  letters  relates 
to  the  wealth  of  the  countries  to  be  explored.  On 
this  point  he  not  only  refers  to  Marco  Polo,  but  also 
speaks  of  the  descriptions  given  by  an  ambassador 
in  the  time  of  Pope  Eugenius  IV.  He  says  :  "  I  was 
a  great  deal  in  his  company,  and  he  gave  me  descrip 
tions  of  the  munificence  of  his  king,  and  of  the 
immense  rivers  in  that  territory,  which  contained, 
as  he  stated,  two  hundred  cities  with  marble  bridges 
upon  the  banks  of  a  single  stream."  "  The  city 
of  Quinsay,"  Toscanelli  continues,  "  is  thirty-five 
leagues  in  circuit,  and  it  contains  ten  large  marble 
bridges,  built  upon  immense  columns  of  singular 
magnificence."  Of  Cipango,  he  says  :  "  This  island 
possesses  such  an  abundance  of  precious  stones  and 
metals  that  the  temples  and  royal  palaces  are  covered 
with  plates  of  gold." 

We  have  now  seen  —  briefly,  it  is  true,  but  per 
haps  with  sufficient  fulness  —  how  Columbus  in  vari 
ous  ways  had  received  his  education.  If  called  upon 
to  sum  up  the  impressions  that  he  had  gained  in  the 
course  of  his  experience  at  Genoa  and  Lisbon  before 
1484,  the  result  would  be  something  like  the  follow 
ing  :  First,  he  acquired  a  very  definite  and  positive 
belief  in  the  sphericity  of  the  earth.  Secondly, 


32  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

through  Toscanelli,  Cardinal  d'Ailly,  and  others,  he 
had  likewise  received  an  equally  definite  and  posi 
tive  impression  that  the  size  of  the  earth  was  much 
less  than  it  actually  is.  His  belief  was  that  Japan 
would  be  reached  by  sailing  west  a  distance  not 
greater  than  the  distance  which  actually  intervenes 
between  Portugal  and  the  eastern  coasts  of  America. 
In  the  third  place,  these  beliefs  were  confirmed  by 
certain  vague  reports  of  sailors  that  had  been  driven 
to  the  far  west,  and  by  such  articles  as  had  been 
thrown  by  the  waters  upon  the  islands  lying  west 
of  Portugal  and  northern  Africa. 

What  may  be  called  the  approaches  to  the  dis 
covery  of  America  were,  in  their  general  character 
istics,  not  unlike  those  which  have  generally  preceded 
other  great  discoveries  and  inventions.  Seldom  in 
the  history  of  the  human  race  has  the  conception 
and  the  consummation  of  a  great  discovery  been  the 
product  of  a  single  brain.  The  final  achievement 
is  ordinarily  only  the  culminating  act  of  the  more 
logical  mind  and  the  more  dauntless  courage.  Such 
was  the  case  with  Columbus.  The  more  one  be 
comes  familiar  with  the  thought  and  the  enterprise 
of  the  fifteenth  century,  the  more  clearly  one  sees 
how  impossible  it  would  have  been  for  America  to 
have  long  remained  undiscovered,  even  if  there  had 
been  no  Columbus.  We  shall  hereafter  see  how  a 
Portuguese  fleet,  in  the  year  1500,  when  sailing  for 
Good  Hope,  and  with  no  thought  of  a  western  con 
tinent,  was  driven  by  storms  to  the  coast  of  Brazil. 
But  none  of  these  facts  should  detract  from  the  credit 


EARLY  YEARS.  33 

of  Columbus.  The  great  man  of  such  a  time  is  the 
one  who  shows  that  he  knows  the  law  of  develop 
ment,  and,  bringing  all  possible  knowledge  to  his 
service,  works,  with  a  lofty  courage  and  an  unflagging 
persistency  and  enthusiasm,  for  the  object  of  his 
devotion  in  accordance  with  the  strict  laws  of  histori 
cal  sequence.  Such  was  the  method  of  Columbus. 
Others,  perhaps,  were  as  familiar  with  all  the  geo 
graphical  facts  and  theories  with  which  he  had  so  long 
been  storing  his  mind ;  others  even  saw  as  clearly 
the  conclusions  to  which  these  facts  and  theories  so 
distinctly  pointed  :  but  he  alone,  of  all  the  men  of 
his  generation,  was  possessed  with  the  lofty  enthu 
siasm,  the  ardent  prescience,  the  unhasting  and  un 
resting  courage,  that  were  the  harbingers  of  glorious 
success. 


34  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 


CHAPTER   II. 

ATTEMPTS   TO   SECURE   ASSISTANCE. 

AN  enterprise  so  vast  and  hazardous  as  that  proposed 
by  Columbus  was  not  likely  to  receive  adequate  assis 
tance  from  any  private  benefactor.  Though  the  Por 
tuguese  had  long  been  considered  daring  navigators, 
no  one  of  them  had  yet  undertaken  an  expedition  in 
any  way  comparable  in  point  of  novelty  and  boldness 
with  that  now  proposed.  The  explorers  of  Prince 
Henry  had  skirted  along  the  coasts  of  Africa,  follow 
ing  out  lines  of  discovery  that  had  already  been  some 
what  plainly  marked  out.  But  what  Columbus  now 
proposed  was  the  bolder  course  of  cutting  loose  from 
old  traditions  and  methods,  and  sailing  directly  west 
into  an  unknown  space.  Capital  was  even  more  con 
servative  and  timid  in  the  fifteenth  century  than  it  is 
at  the  present  time ;  and  therefore  great  expeditions 
were  much  more  dependent  upon  governmental  assis 
tance.  It  was  not  singular,  therefore,  that  Columbus 
found  himself  obliged  to  seek  for  governmental  sup 
port  and  protection. 

But  in  this,  as  in  so  many  other  details  in  the  life 
of  Columbus,  it  is  impossible  at  the  present  time  to 
be  confident  that  we  have  ascertained  the  exact 


THE 

UNIVERSITY 
V  / 

ATTEMPTS   TO  SECURE   ASS/SZANCE.       35 


truth.  Many  of  the  early  accounts  are  conflicting ; 
and  not  a  few  of  the  prevailing  impressions  are 
founded  on  evidence  that  will  not  bear  the  test  of 
critical  examination.  For  example,  nearly  all  of  the 
historians  assert  that  Columbus  made  application  for 
assistance  to  the  governments  of  Genoa  and  Venice. 

The  only  authority  for  belief  that  the  Admiral  ap 
plied  to  Genoa  is  a  statement  of  Ramusio,  who  affirms 
that  he  received  his  information  from  Peter  Martyr. 
In  the  course  of  the  narrative  he  says  that  when  the 
application  was  rejected,  Columbus,  at  the  age  of  forty, 
determined  to  go  to  Portugal.  Unfortunately,  to  our 
acceptance  of  this  circumstantial  statement  there  are 
several  very  serious  obstacles.  In  the  first  place,  no 
authority  for  such  an  assertion  can  be  found  in  all  the 
writings  of  Peter  Martyr.  Again,  the  archives  of 
Genoa  have  been  thoroughly  explored  in  vain  for 
any  evidence  of  such  an  application.  But  most  im 
portant  of  all,  the  assertion,  if  true,  would  prove  that 
Columbus  was  born  as  early  as  1430.  We  should 
also  be  obliged  to  infer  that  two  of  his  children  by 
the  same  mother  differed  in  age  by  at  least  thirty-six 
years.  The  impression  that  Columbus  made  applica 
tion  for  assistance  to  Genoa  may  therefore  safely  be 
dismissed  as  apocryphal. 

The  evidence  in  regard  to  an  application  to  Venice, 
though  less  positive  in  its  nature,  is  also  inconclusive. 
The  Venetian  historian  Carlo  Antonio  Marin,  whose 
history  of  Venetian  commerce  was  not  published  till 
the  year  1800,  was  the  first  to  give  currency  to  the 
story.  His  authority  is  this.  He  says  that  Francesco 


3 6  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

Pesaro  said  to  him  some  ten  or  twelve  years  before,  — 
that  is,  about  1780,  —  that  in  making  some  researches 
in  the  archives  of  the  Council  of  Ten,  he  had  seen 
and  read  a  letter  of  Columbus  making  application  to 
the  Venetian  Government  for  assistance.  But  al 
though  diligent  search  has  since  been  made  at  two 
different  times  throughout  the  archives  for  the  years 
between  1470  and  1492,  no  trace  of  such  a  letter  has 
ever  been  found.  It  is  possible  that  this  important 
document  may  have  been  destroyed  when,  just  before 
the  preliminaries  of  Leoben,  in  May,  1797,  a  mob 
invaded  the  hall  of  the  Council  of  Ten  and  dispersed 
such  of  the  papers  a5  could  be  found.  But  until  some 
further  evidence  comes  to  light,  it  must  be  consid 
ered  doubtful  whether  application  to  Venice  was  ever 
made. 

In  regard  to  applications  to  Portugal,  England,  and 
France,  the  evidence  is  less  incomplete,  though  here, 
too,  we  meet  with  not  a  few  conflicting  statements. 

In  one  of  his  letters  to  the  Spanish  sovereigns 
Columbus  says  :  "  For  twenty-seven  years  I  had  been 
trying  to  get  recognition,  but  at  the  end  of  that  pe 
riod  all  my  projects  were  turned  to  ridicule.  .  .  .  But 
notwithstanding  this  fact,"  he  continues,  "  I  pressed 
on  with  zeal,  and  responded  to  France,  Portugal,  and 
England  that  I  reserved  for  the  king  and  queen  those 
countries  and  those  domains."  Elsewhere  he  says  : 
"  In  order  to  serve  your  Highnesses,  I  listened  to 
neither  England  nor  Portugal  nor  France,  whose 
princes  wrote  me  letters  which  your  Highnesses  can 
see  in  the  hands  of  Dr.  Villalono." 


ATTEMPTS   TO  SECURE  ASSISTANCE.       37 

There  is  another  bit  of  evidence  on  this  subject 
that  is  not  less  interesting.  On  the  igth  of  March, 
1493,  the  Duke  of  Medina  Celi  wrote  to  Cardinal  de 
Mendoza  asking  that  he  might  be  permitted  to  send 
vessels  every  year  to  trade  in  America,  and  urging  as 
a  reason  for  this  special  favor  the  fact  that  he  had 
prevented  Columbus  from  going  to  the  service  of 
France  and  had  held  him  to  the  service  of  Spain,  at 
a  time  when  he  had  opportunities  for  going  elsewhere. 

But  as  if  to  prevent  us  from  being  too  confident 
that  we  have  arrived  at  the  exact  truth,  Columbus  in 
another  of  his  letters  gives  us  a  statement  which,  if  it 
stood  alone,  would  seem  to  prove  that  John  II.  not 
only  made  no  offer,  but  stubbornly  refused  all  assist 
ance.  He  says  :  "  The  king  of  Portugal  refused  with 
blindness  to  second  me  in  my  projects  of  maritime 
discovery,  for  God  closed  his  eyes,  ears,  and  all  his 
senses,  so  that  in  fourteen  years  I  was  not  able  to 
make  him  listen  to  what  I  advanced." 

From  this  it  would  seem  to  be  certain  that  the  offer 
of  Portugal  alluded  to  in  the  letter  above  quoted  was 
not  made  earlier  than  1487,  fully  two  years  after 
Columbus  had  arrived  in  Spain. 

That  Columbus's  application  was  made  as  early  as 
1474,  the  Toscanelli  correspondence  is  sufficient 
proof.  But  the  moment  was  not  auspicious.  John  II., 
who  was  then  reigning,  appears  to  have  had  no  aver 
sion  to  giving  aid  to  such  an  enterprise ;  but  he  was 
involved  in  expensive  wars,  and  any  additional  drafts 
upon  the  treasury  would  have  met  with  exceptional 
difficulty. 


38  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

But  there  was  another  reason  that  ought  not  to  be 
overlooked.  The  recent  maritime  history  of  Portugal 
had  given  the  Government  a  very  natural  feeling  of 
self-reliance.  The  extraordinary  efforts  and  successes 
of  Prince  Henry  had  borne  fruit.  Portugal  had  not 
only  raised  up  a  large  number  of  skilful  explorers,  but 
had  attracted  to  Lisbon  all  the  great  navigators  of  the 
time.  Diego  Cam  and  Behaim  had  gone  beyond  the 
Congo.  Affonso  de  Aviero  had  visited  the  kingdom 
of  Benin,  and  Pedro  de  Covilham  had  advanced  to 
Calicut  by  way  of  the  Red  Sea.  Affonso  de  Pavia  had 
reached  Abyssinia,  and  Bartholomew  Diaz  was  at  the 
point  of  doubling  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  Thus  a 
vast  number  of  expeditions  had  been  sent  out,  not 
only  to  the  coasts  of  Africa,  but  also  to  the  open  sea. 
In  1513  De  Mafra  testified  that  the  king  of  Portugal 
had  sent  out  two  exploring  expeditions  that  had  re 
turned  without  results.  In  view  of  all  these  facts  the 
refusal  of  the  Portuguese  monarch  might  easily  be  ex 
plained  on  the  ground  of  anterior  engagements  to  his 
own  subjects. 

But  notwithstanding  the  assurances  of  Columbus 
himself,  it  is  certain  that  there  was  no  absolute  re 
fusal.  On  the  contrary,  there  is  positive  proof  that 
the  king  took  the  matter  into  most  careful  considera 
tion.  He  not  only  listened  with  attention  to  the 
scheme,  but,  if  we  may  believe  the  testimony  of  Fer 
nando,  gave  a  qualified  promise  of  support.  Colum 
bus  accepted  an  invitation  of  the  monarch  to  unfold 
his  hypothesis  in  reference  to  the  extent  of  Asia,  the 
splendors  of  the  region  described  by  Marco  Polo,  the 


ATTEMPTS   TO  SECURE  ASSISTANCE.       39 

shortness  of  the  distance  across  the  Atlantic,  and 
the  entire  practicability  of  reaching  the  East  Indies 
by  a  directly  westward  course. 

Of  this  interview  we  have  two  accounts,  one  writ 
ten  by  the  Admiral's  son  Fernando,  and  the  other  by 
De  Barros,  the  Portuguese  historiographer.  According 
to  Fernando,  his  father  supported  the  prosecution  of 
the  plan  by  such  excellent  reasons  that  the  king  did  not 
hesitate  to  give  his  consent.  But  when  Columbus,  be 
ing  a  man  of  lofty  and  noble  ideals,  demanded  hon 
orable  titles  and  rewards,  the  king  found  the  matter 
quite  beyond  the  means  then  at  his  disposal.  De 
Barros,  on  the  other  hand,  assures  us  that  the  seeming 
acquiescence  of  the  king  was  simply  his  manner  of  an 
swering  what  he  regarded  as  the  unreasonable  importu 
nities  of  Columbus.  He  considered  the  navigator  as 
a  vainglorious  man,  fond  of  displaying  his  abilities  and 
given  to  fantastic  notions,  such  as  those  respecting  the 
island  of  Cipango.  According  to  this  same  authority, 
it  was  but  another  way  of  getting  rid  of  Columbus 
that  the  king  referred  the  whole  subject  to  a  com 
mittee  of  the  Council  for  Geographical  Affairs. 

It  is  said  that  councils  of  war  never  fight,  and  that 
advisory  boards  regard  the  promoters  of  new  schemes 
as  their  natural  enemies.  The  committee  to  whom 
the  king  referred  the  proposal  of  Columbus  was  made 
up  of  two  Jewish  physicians  and  a  bishop.  Although 
the  physicians,  Roderigo  and  Joseph,  were  reputed  as 
the  most  able  cosmographers  of  the  realm,  they  had 
not  much  hesitation  in  deciding  that  the  project  was 
extravagant  and  visionary.  With  this  judgment  the 


40  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

ecclesiastical  member  of  the  council  seems  to  have 
agreed. 

The  king,  however,  as  if  unwilling  to  lose  any  valu 
able  opportunity,  does  not  appear  to  have  been  satis- 
fled  with  this  answer.  As  the  story  goes,  he  convoked 
his  royal  council,  and  asked  their  advice  whether  to 
adopt  this  new  route,  or  to  pursue  that  which  had 
already  been  opened. 

Von  Concelos,  the  historian  of  King  John  II.,  has 
given  a  graphic  account  of  the  discussion  held  be 
fore  this  council.  The  Bishop  of  Ceuta,  the  same 
important  dignitary  that  had  been  a  member  of  the 
committee  of  three,  opposed  this  scheme  in  a  cool 
and  deliberate  speech.  The  opposite  side  was  pre 
sented  by  Dom  Pedro  de  Meneses  with  so  much 
eloquence  and  power  that  the  impression  he  made 
quite  surpassed  that  of  the  colder  reasonings  of  the 
bishop.  What  followed  was  apparently  prompted  by 
a  consciousness  that  the  advocates  of  the  scheme  were 
likely  to  be  successful.  The  bishop  now  proposed  a 
very  unworthy  scheme.  He  asked  that  Columbus 
might  be  kept  in  suspense  while  a  vessel  should  be 
secretly  despatched  by  the  king  to  discover  whether 
there  was  any  foundation  for  his  theory.  The  king 
appears  not  to  have  been  above  the  adoption  of  so 
base  a  proposition.  Columbus  was  required  to  fur 
nish  for  the  consideration  of  the  council  a  plan  of 
his  proposed  voyage,  together  with  the  charts  and 
maps  with  which  he  intended  to  guide  his  course.  A 
small  vessel  was  despatched,  ostensibly  to  the  Cape 
de  Verde  islands,  but  with  private  instructions  to  pro- 


ATTEAIPTS   TO  SECURE  ASSISTANCE.       41 

ceed  on  the  route  pointed  out  by  Columbus.  The 
officer  had  no  heart  in  the  enterprise,  and  it  was  a 
complete  failure.  Sailing  westward  for  several  days, 
they  encountered  storms,  and  the  sailors,  losing 
their  courage,  returned  to  ridicule  the  project  as 
impossible. 

When  these  facts  came  to  be  known,  they  produced 
a  very  natural  impression  on  the  mind  of  Columbus. 
Disgusted  with  the  treatment  he  had  received  from 
the  Portuguese,  he  quitted  Lisbon  for  Spain  at  a 
date  which  cannot  be  determined  with  precision,  but 
probably  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1484  or  in  the 
early  part  of  1485.  His  departure  had  to  be  secret, 
lest  he  should  be  detained  either  by  the  king  or  his 
creditors.  Color  is  given  to  the  supposition  that  he 
was  under  grave  charges  of  some  kind  by  the  fact 
that  King  John,  when,  some  years  later,  inviting  him 
to  return  to  Portugal,  deemed  it  necessary  to  insure 
him  "  against  arrest  on  account  of  any  process,  civil 
or  criminal,  that  might  be  pending  against  him." 

Now,  in  considering  all  these  accounts,  it  is  not 
difficult  to  imagine  that  in  his  efforts  to  promote  his 
great  schemes,  Columbus  had  been  kept  in  poverty. 
But  the  reasons  for  his  leaving  in  secret,  and  even 
his  movements  on  leaving  Portugal,  are  involved  in 
uncertainty. 

It  has  also  very  often  been  held  by  modern  histo 
rians  that  Columbus,  immediately  after  entering  Spain, 
found  his  way  to  the  monastery  of  La  Rabida,  near 
Palos.  The  authority  for  this  belief,  moreover,  is 
nothing  less  than  a  circumstantial  account  given  by 


42  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

Fernando.  But  the  assertion  has  been  proved  to  be 
incorrect.  In  the  trial  of  1513,  in  which  Diego  Co 
lumbus  attempted  to  establish  certain  claims  against 
the  Government,  two  witnesses  gave  sworn  testimony 
in  regard  to  the  meeting  at  La  Rabida.  This  testi 
mony  is  still  to  be  seen  in  the  records  of  the  trial ; 
and  the  details  of  the  evidence  make  it  almost  abso 
lutely  certain  that  the  visit  of  Columbus  to  that 
famous  monastery  was  not  when  he  first  entered 
Spain  in  1484  or  1485,  but  as  late  as  September  or 
October  of  1491. 

Of  another  interesting  effort,  however,  we  have 
more  positive  information.  It  was  probably  before 
leaving  Portugal  that  he  despatched  his  brother  Bar 
tholomew  to  make  application  to  the  king  of  England. 
But  whatever  the  date  of  the  application,  it  was  not 
successful.  Whether  the  presentation  of  the  case 
was  made  orally  or  in  writing  can  perhaps  never  be 
determined.  It  is  known  that  he  was  in  England  for  a 
considerable  period ;  but  no  trace  of  the  application 
itself  has  ever  been  found  in  the  English  authorities 
of  the  time.  After  remaining  in  England  probably 
until  1488,  Bartholomew  went  to  France,  where  he 
remained  until  1494.  Though  it  seems  probable  that 
he  received  some  encouragement  at  the  French  court, 
even  the  probability  rests  upon  no  documentary  evi 
dence  except  the  assertion  of  Columbus,  already 
quoted.  That  hopes  were  held  out,  may  perhaps  be 
inferred  from  the  fact  that  when,  almost  at  the  last 
moment,  Columbus  turned  his  back  upon  the  Spanish 
court,  he  decided  to  go  to  France. 


ATTEMPTS   TO  SECURE  ASSISTANCE.       43 

As  to  the  course  pursued  by  Columbus  after  he 
reached  Spain,  there  is  also  some  uncertainty.  This 
is  owing  to  the  impossibility  of  reconciling  some  of 
the  statements  of  Fernando  with  many  of  the  other 
statements  found  in  the  contemporaneous  records.  If 
the  narrative  of  the  son  in  regard  to  the  course  of  the 
father  is  followed,  the  student  will  find  himself  in  a 
labyrinth  of  difficulties.  Fernando  would  have  us 
believe  that  immediately  after  entering  Spain  his 
father  went  to  the  court  of  Medina  Celi,  and  a  little 
later  had  his  famous  experience  at  the  monastery  of 
La  Rabida.  But  it  is  impossible  to  reconcile  such  a 
statement  with  the  subsequent  current  of  events.  We 
know,  as  we  shall  presently  see,  that  Columbus  was 
two  years  in  the  house  of  the  Duke  of  Medina  Celi, 
and  that  at  the  end  of  that  period  he  took  a  letter  of 
introduction  and  commendation  to  Cardinal  Mendoza 
at  the  court  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella.  We  know 
also  that  the  visit  to  La  Rabida  was  the  cause  of  a 
letter  being  written  which  induced  Columbus  to  take 
that  journey  to  the  court,  which  resulted  in  the  ulti 
mate  adoption  of  his  cause.  The  letter  of  Medina, 
moreover,  assured  the  monarch  that  Columbus  was  on 
the  point  of  taking  his  enterprise  to  the  court  of 
France.  This  assertion  appears  to  be  altogether  in 
compatible  with  the  supposition  that  the  abode  of 
Columbus  with  Medina  Celi  was  in  the  early  part  of 
his  residence  in  Spain.  Not  to  present  a  tedious 
array  of  irreconcilable  details,  it  is  perhaps  enough  to 
say  that  if  the  statement  of  Fernando  is  once  rejected, 
the  way  is,  for  the  most  part,  easy  and  clear.  If  we 


44  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

once  adopt  the  supposition  that  the  abode  with 
Medina  Celi  began  in  1489,  and  that  the  visit  tc 
La  Rabid  a  was  in  September  or  October  of  1491, 
we  shall  rest  on  the  authority  of  Las  Casas,  and 
shall  find  that  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  account 
ing  for  the  movements  of  Columbus  are  chiefly  re 
moved.  Against  this  supposition,  moreover,  there  is 
no  evidence  except  the  statement  of  Fernando,  pub 
lished  not  less  than  eighty  years  after  the  events  it 
purports  to  describe. 

With  this  explanation  let  us  endeavour  to  point  out 
the  course  of  Columbus  in  the  light  of  the  original 
evidence. 

Before  we  can  understand  the  course  that  was 
taken,  we  must  glance  at  the  general  condition  of 
Spain. 

The  modern  Inquisition  was  established  in  Castile 
by  royal  decree  in  September  of  1480.  It  proceeded 
with  so  much  energy  that  in  the  course  of  the  following 
year,  it  is  estimated  that  no  less  than  two  thousand  per 
sons  were  burned  at  the  stake.  The  queen  appears 
to  have  had  some  scruples  in  regard  to  this  wholesale 
slaughter ;  but  these  were  allayed  by  Pope  Sixtus  the 
Fourth,  who  encouraged  her  by  an  audacious  reference 
to  the  example  of  Christ,  who,  he  said,  established  his 
kingdom  by  the  destruction  of  idolatry.  This  teaching 
was  effective.  In  the  autumn  of  1483  the  terrible  Tor- 
quemada  was  appointed  Inquisitor-General,  and  clothed 
with  full  powers  to  reorganize  the  Holy  Office  and  ex 
terminate  heresy.  From  that  time  until  the  end  of  this 
inquisitor's  term  of  office,  according  to  the  estimation 


ATTEMPTS   TO  SECURE  ASSISTANCE.     45 

of  Llorente,  the  annual  number  of  persons  condemned 
to  torture  was  more  than  six  thousand,  and  in  the 
course  of  the  whole  period  more  than  ten  thousand 
were  burned  alive.  The  success  of  the  Inquisition  in 
Castile  was  so  satisfactory  that  Ferdinand  resolved  to 
introduce  it  into  Aragon.  Notwithstanding  a  remon 
strance  of  the  Cortes,  the  auto-da-fe,  with  all  its  hor 
rors,  was  set  up  at  Saragossa  in  the  month  of  May, 
1485.  The  Aragonese,  despairing  of  any  other  way 
of  protecting  themselves,  resolved  upon  an  appalling 
act  of  violence.  Arbues,  the  most  odious  of  the  in 
quisitors,  was  attacked  by  a  band  of  conspirators  and 
assassinated  on  his  knees  before  the  great  altar  of 
the  cathedral,  in  a  manner  that  reminds  us  of  the 
death  of  Thomas  a  Becket  at  Canterbury.  The  whole 
kingdom  was  consequently  thrown  into  turmoil. 

But  there  were  other  causes  of  anxiety.  This  very 
year  the  prevalence  of  the  plague  added  to  the  gen 
eral  solicitude.  In  some  of  the  southern  districts  of 
the  kingdom  the  ravages  of  the  pestilence  showed 
not  only  the  appalling  condition  of  the  people,  but 
also  the  necessity  of  governmental  assistance.  In 
several  of  the  cities  as  many  as  eight  or  ten  thousand 
of  the  inhabitants  were  swept  away.  In  Seville  alone 
the  number  that  perished  this  very  year  was  no  less 
than  fifteen  thousand. 

Just  at  this  juncture,  moreover,  the  coin  of  the  realm 
was  adulterated,  and  a  fatal  shock  was  given  to  com 
mercial  credit.  The  people  very  generally  refused  to 
receive  the  debased  money  in  payment  of  debts. 
Prices  of  ordinary  articles  rose  to  such  a  height  as  to 


46  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

be  above  the  reach  of  the  poorer  classes  of  the  com 
munity.  Great  destitution  prevailed,  and  the  resources 
of  the  Government  were  put  to  the  severest  strain. 
Even  if  there  had  been  no  other  tax  upon  the  treasures 
of  the  king  and  queen,  the  time  would  not  have  been 
propitious  for  an  application  like  that  of  Columbus. 

But  there  was  another  and  a  still  more  important 
reason.  For  more  than  three  years  the  terrible  war 
against  the  Moors  had  been  taxing  the  resources  of 
the  united  armies  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella.  When 
the  Genoese  navigator  entered  Spain,  the  court  was 
making  active  preparations  for  a  vigorous  continuation 
of  that  titanic  struggle.  The  rival  kings  of  Granada 
had  formed  a  coalition  that  now  called  for  the  most 
prompt  and  vigorous  action.  The  headquarters  of  the 
king  and  queen  were  established  at  Cordova,  where 
the  active  operations  in  the  field  could  be  most  easily 
and  successfully  directed ;  and  all  the  resources  of 
Castile  and  Aragon  were  called  into  requisition  to 
meet  these  emergencies  in  the  famous  contest  of  the 
Cross  against  the  Crescent. 

No  one  can  fairly  judge  either  of  the  generosity  or 
of  the  justice  of  the  monarchs  in  dealing  with  Colum 
bus,  without  taking  into  consideration  all  these  prior 
obligations.  At  the  very  moment  when  this  enter 
prising  navigator  applied  for  assistance,  there  must 
have  arisen  to  the  minds  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  a 
vivid  consciousness  of  the  ominous  ferment  caused  by 
the  work  of  the  Inquisition;  of  the  suffering  occa 
sioned  by  the  plague ;  of  the  starvation  that  every 
where  appealed  for  help  in  consequence  of  the 


ATTEMPTS   TO  SECURE  ASSISTANCE.       47 

debasement  of  the  currency  and  the  rise  in  prices ; 
and,  finally,  of  the  all-absorbing  necessity  of  bringing 
every  resource  of  the  country  to  bear  upon  the  end 
ing  of  this  terrible  war  against  Granada.  Nor  can  it 
be  forgotten  that  the  war  was  still  to  make  its  de 
mands  upon  the  country  for  six  years.  In  view  of  all 
the  facts,  it  is  difficult  to  imagine  a  concurrence  of 
circumstances  more  unfavorable  to  the  application. 
The  monarchs  could  not  have  been  justly  blamed  if 
they  had  summarily  declared  that  a  granting  of  the 
application  was  impossible.  And  yet,  that  they  were 
unwilling  to  reject  the  application  outright,  the  course 
of  events  abundantly  shows. 

Columbus,  in  a  letter  dated  the  i4th  of  January, 
1493,  says  that  seven  years  the  twentieth  of  that 
month  had  rolled  away  since  he  entered  the  service 
of  the  Spanish  monarchs.  This  exact  statement,  cor 
roborated  in  substance  as  it  is  by  others,  would  seem 
to  fix  the  date  of  his  entering  the  Spanish  service  as 
the  20th  of  January,  1486.  What  the  nature  of  this 
service  was,  cannot  now  be  determined.  Nor  do  we 
know  whether  from  this  time  he  received  pecuniary 
support.  The  first  record  of  such  assistance,  indeed 
the  first  authentic  documentary  evidence  of  his  being 
in  Spain,  occurs  in  an  entry  in  the  books  of  the  royal 
treasurer  for  the  5th  of  May,  1487.  Under  this  date 
is  found  the  following  entry :  "  To-day  paid  three 
thousand  maravedis  [about  twenty  dollars]  to  Chris 
topher  Columbus,  stranger,  who  is  here  employed  in 
certain  things  for  their  Highnesses,  under  the  direc 
tion  of  Alphonso  de  Quintanilla,  by  order  of  the 


48  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

bishop."  In  one  of  his  letters  to  Ferdinand,  Colum 
bus  says  :  "  As  soon  as  your  Highness  had  knowledge 
of  my  desire  [to  visit  the  Indies],  you  protected  me 
and  honored  me  with  favors." 

While  there  is  nothing  in  these  assertions  to  indi 
cate  the  exact  date  when  Columbus  began  to  receive 
pecuniary  assistance,  we  are  justified  in  the  inference 
that  it  was  in  January  of  1486. 

There  is  no  evidence,  however,  that  Columbus  pre 
sented  himself  at  the  Spanish  capital  before  the  fol 
lowing  spring.  Surely  the  times  must  have  seemed 
to  him  inauspicious.  The  monarchs  had  established 
themselves  at  Cordova  as  the  most  convenient  place 
for  the  headquarters  of  the  army.  Early  in  the  year, 
the  king  marched  off  to  lay  siege  to  the  Moorish  city 
of  Illora,  while  Isabella  remained  at  Cordova  to  for 
ward  the  necessary  troops  and  supplies.  A  little 
later  we  find  both  monarchs,  in  person,  carrying  on 
the  siege  of  Moclin.  Scarcely  had  they  returned  to 
Cordova,  however,  when  they  were  obliged  to  set  out 
for  Galicia  to  suppress  the  rebellion  of  the  Count  of 
Lemos. 

During  this  summer  of  military  turmoil,  Columbus 
remained  at  Cordova  vainly  waiting  for  an  opportu 
nity  to  present  his  cause.  Fortunately  he  was  not 
without  some  encouragement;  for  he  had  gained  the 
favor  of  Alonzo  de  Quintanilla,  whose  guest  he  be 
came,  and  through  whom  he  made  the  acquaintance 
of  Geraldini,  the  preceptor  of  the  younger  children  of 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella. 

When  the  monarchs^repaired  to  the  northern  town 


ATTEMPTS   TO  SECURE  ASSISTANCE.       49 

of  Salamanca  for  the  winter,  Columbus  also  went 
thither  with  his  friends  Quintanilla  and  Geraldini. 
Here  it  was  that  the  cause  of  the  explorer  first  had  a 
formal  hearing. 

At  this  audience  it  is  not  probable  that  Queen  Isa 
bella  was  present ;  at  least,  the  only  part  of  the  dis 
cussion  taken  by  the  monarchs  seems  to  have  been 
that  of  the  king.  It  is  said  that  Columbus  unfolded 
his  scheme  with  entire  self-possession.  He  appears  to 
have  been  neither  dazzled  nor  daunted  ;  for  in  a  letter 
to  the  sovereign,  in  1501,  he  declares  that  on  this  oc 
casion  "  he  felt  himself  kindled  as  with  a  fire  from  on 
high,  and  considered  himself  as  an  agent  chosen  by 
Heaven  to  accomplish  a  grand  design." 

But  so  important  a  matter  as  that  now  urged  upon 
the  sovereigns  was  not  to  be  entered  upon  lightly  or 
in  haste.  However  willing  the  king  may  have  been 
to  be  the  promoter  of  discoveries  far  more  important 
than  those  which  had  shed  glory  upon  Portugal,  he 
was  too  cool  and  shrewd  a  man  to  decide  a  matter 
hastily  which  involved  so  many  scientific  principles. 
Of  the  details  of  what  followed  we  have  no  authentic 
account.  After  more  than  a  hundred  years  had 
passed  away,  and  the  glory  of  the  discovery  had  come 
in  some  measure  to  be  appreciated,  the  claim  was 
set  up  that  a  congress  or  junta  of  learned  men  was 
called  together,  and  that  the  whole  subject  was  sub 
mitted  to  their  consideration.  The  account,  however, 
is  accompanied  with  many  suspicious  circumstances. 
The  historian  Remesal  was  a  Dominican  monk  and 
a  member  of  the  monastery  of  St.  Stephen  at  Sala- 
4 


50  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

manca,  where,  it  is  said,  the  junta  was  held.  In  his 
narrative  he  claims  that  the  ecclesiastical  members, 
for  the  most  part  monks  of  St.  Stephen,  listened  with 
approval  to  the  presentation  of  the  case,  while  those 
who  might  be  called  the  scientific  members  strenu 
ously  opposed  it.  This  statement,  which  is  the  basis 
of  Irving's  account,  is  not  only  inherently  improbable, 
but  is  supported  by  no  contemporaneous  evidence 
whatever.  The  absence  of  such  evidence,  moreover, 
is  enough  to  condemn  the  whole  story.  The  records 
of  the  monastery,  which  are  supposed  to  be  com 
plete,  contain  no  reference  to  any  such  meeting.  Las 
Casas,  himself  a  Dominican,  would  have  been  sure  to 
introduce  the  account  into  his  narrative  if  it  had 
rested  upon  any  basis  of  fact.  He  makes  no  allusion 
to  any  such  meeting,  and  we  are  forced  to  conclude 
that  the  story  was  fabricated  for  ecclesiastical  pur 
poses.  But  although  no  such  formal  meeting  was 
ever  held,  there  is  evidence  that  Ferdinand  obtained, 
in  an  informal  way,  the  opinions  of  some  of  the  most 
learned  men  of  the  time. 

The  city  of  Salamanca,  where  this  order  was  issued, 
seemed  in  every  way  favourable  for  such  a  hearing; 
for  at  this  ancient  capital  was  situated  one  of  the 
most  renowned  universities  of  Spain.  It  is  difficult 
to  suppose  that  the  professors  of  that  venerable  insti 
tution  were  not  familiar  with  the  latest  theories  in 
regard  to  the  sphericity  of  the  earth ;  but  notwith 
standing  this  fact,  Columbus  had  to  confront,  not 
only  the  prudent  conservatism  of  learning,  but  also 
the  obstinate  conservatism  of  the  Church.  The  fac- 


ATTEMPTS   TO  SECURE  ASSISTANCE,       51 

ulties  were  made  up  partly  of  ecclesiastics,  and  partly 
of  others  who  soon  became  fully  imbued  with  the 
ecclesiastical  spirit.  It  was  at  a  time  when  there 
was  no  more  thought  of  tolerating  heresy  than  there 
was  of  tolerating  arson.  The  Inquisition,  as  we  have 
just  seen,  had  recently  been  established.  In  both 
the  king  and  the  queen  an  ardent  religious  zeal  was 
united  with  great  political  and  military  skill,  as  well 
as  great  personal  popularity.  Heresy  was  the  most 
dangerous  of  crimes,  and  the  strictest  adherence  to 
traditional  doctrines  was  encouraged  by  all  the  con 
siderations  of  loyalty,  of  interest,  and  of  prudence. 
To  the  dark  colours  in  which  heresy  was  painted  by 
the  Church  in  the  fifteenth  century,  a  still  deeper  hue 
was  now  added  by  the  horrors  of  the  Moorish  wars. 
It  is  therefore  easy  to  explain  why  the  people  of 
Spain  surpassed  the  people  of  other  countries  in 
the  fervour  of  religious  intolerance.  Columbus  was 
obliged  to  plead  the  cause  of  his  departure  from 
traditional  methods  in  an  atmosphere  charged  with 
all  these  predispositions,  prejudices,  and  motives. 
By  the  vulgar  crowd  the  navigator  had  persistently 
been  scoffed  at  as  a  visionary ;  but  with  something 
of  the  hopeful  enthusiasm  of  an  adventurer,  he  had 
steadily  maintained  the  belief  that  it  was  only  neces 
sary  to  meet  a  body  of  enlightened  men  to  insure 
their  conversion  to  his  cause. 

But  his  hopefulness  was  destined  to  be  disabused. 
We  can  well  believe  that  his  project  appeared  in 
a  somewhat  unfavourable  light  before  the  learned 
men  of  the  day.  To  them  he  was  simply  an  obscure 


52  CHRISTOPHER    COLUMBUS. 

navigator,  and  a  foreigner  at  that,  depending  upon 
nothing  more  than  the  force  of  the  reasons  he  might 
be  able  to  present.  Some  of  them,  no  doubt,  looked 
upon  him  simply  as  an  adventurer,  while  others  were 
disposed  to  manifest  their  impatience  at  any  doc 
trinal  innovation.  The  predominance  of  opinion 
seemed  to  intrench  itself  in  the  belief  that  after  so 
many  cosmographers  and  navigators  had  been  study 
ing  and  exploring  the  globe  for  centuries,  it  was 
simply  an  absurd  presumption  to  suppose  that  any 
new  discoveries  of  importance  were  now  to  be 
made. 

The  discussion,  almost  at  the  very  first,  was  taken 
out  of  the  domain  of  science.  Instead  of  attempt 
ing  to  present  astronomical  and  geographical  objec 
tions  to  the  proposed  voyage,  the  objectors  assailed 
the  scheme  with  citations  from  the  Bible  and  from 
the  Fathers  of  the  Church.  The  book  of  Genesis,  the 
Psalms  of  David,  the  Prophets,  and  the  Gospels 
were  all  put  upon  the  witness-stand  and  made  to 
testify  to  the  impossibility  of  success.  Saint  Chryso- 
stom,  Saint  Augustine,  Lactantius,  Saint  Jerome, 
Saint  Gregory,  and  a  host  of  others,  were  cited  as 
confirmatory  witnesses.  Philosophical  and  mathe 
matical  demonstrations  received  no  consideration. 
The  simple  proposition  of  Columbus  that  the  earth 
was  spherical  was  met  with  texts  of  Scripture  in  a 
manner  that  was  worthy  of  Father  Jasper. 

These  various  presentations,  however,  were  by  no 
means  in  vain ;  for  there  was  far  from  unanimity 
of  opinion.  There  were  a  few  who  admitted  that 


ATTEMPTS    TO  SECURE  ASSISTANCE.        53 

Saint  Thomas  Aquinas  and  Saint  Isadora  might  be 
right  in  believing  the  earth  to  be  globular  in  form ; 
though  even  these  were  inclined  to  deny  that  circum 
navigation  was  possible.  It  is  a  pleasure  to  note, 
however,  that  there  was  one  conspicuous  exception 
to  the  general  current  of  opposition  and  resistance. 
Whether  dating  from  this  period  we  do  not  know, 
but  it  is  certain  that  an  early  interest  was  taken  in 
the  cause  by  Diego  de  Deza,  a  learned  friar  of  the 
order  of  St.  Dominic,  who  afterward  became  arch 
bishop  of  Seville,  one  of  the  highest  ecclesiastical 
dignitaries  of  the  realm.  Deza  appears  to  have  risen 
quite  above  the  limitations  of  mere  ecclesiastical 
lore ;  for  he  not  only  took  a  generous  interest  in  the 
cause  of  the  explorer,  but  he  seconded  and  encour 
aged  his  efforts  with  all  the  means  at  his  command. 
Perhaps  it  was  by  his  efforts  that  so  deep  an  impres 
sion  was  made  on  the  most  learned  men  of  the  con 
ference.  However  this  may  have  been,  the  ignorant 
and  the  prejudiced  remained  obstinate  in  their  oppo 
sition,  and  so  the  season  at  Salamanca  passed  away 
without  bringing  the  monarchs  to  any  decision. 

After  the  winter  of  1486-87,  there  occurred  a  long 
and  painful  period  of  delays.  In  the  following  spring 
the  court  departed  from  Salamanca  and  went  to 
Cordova  to  prepare  for  the  memorable  campaign 
against  Malaga.  Columbus  accompanied  the  expe 
dition  in  the  vain  hope  that  there  would  be  an  oppor 
tunity  for  a  further  hearing.  At  one  time  when  the 
Spanish  armies  were  encamped  on  the  hills  and 
plains  surrounding  the  beleaguered  city,  Columbus 


54  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

was  summoned  to  court ;  but  amid  the  din  of  a 
terrible  contest  there  was  no  place  for  a  calm  con 
sideration  of  the  great  maritime  project.  The  sum 
mer  was  full  of  incident  and  peril.  At  one  time  the 
king  was  surprised  and  nearly  cut  off  by  the  craft 
of  the  old  Moorish  monarch ;  at  another  a  Moorish 
fanatic  attempted  to  assassinate  both  king  and  queen, 
only  to  be  cut  to  pieces  after  he  had  wounded  the 
prince  of  Portugal  and  the  Marchioness  de  Moya, 
supposing  them  to  be  Ferdinand  and  Isabella. 

But  it  is  easy  to  imagine  that  this  seemingly  un 
toward  event  contributed  to  help  on  the  cause  of 
Columbus.  The  Marchioness  de  Moya  had  warmly 
espoused  his  cause,  and  the  attempt  upon  her  life 
can  hardly  have  failed  to  appeal  to  the  interest  of 
Queen  Isabella. 

Malaga  surrendered  in  August,  and  the  king  and 
queen  almost  immediately  returned  to  Cordova.  The 
pestilence,  however,  very  soon  made  that  old  city  an 
unsafe  abode.  For  a  while  the  court  was  in  what 
might  be  called  the  turmoil  of  migration.  At  one 
time  it  was  in  Valladolid,  at  another  in  Saragossa,  at 
another  in  Medina  de  Campo.  But  during  all  this 
period  its  ardent  business  was  the  pressing  forward 
of  the  Spanish  armies  into  the  Moorish  territories. 
As  every  reader  of  Irving  knows,  the  ground  was 
stubbornly  contested,  inch  by  inch.  Columbus  re 
mained  for  the  most  part  with  the  army ;  but  he 
sought  in  vain  for  the  quiet  necessary  for  a  dis 
passionate  hearing. 

It  could  hardly  have  been  otherwise.     Ferdinand 


ATTEMPTS   TO  SECURE  ASSISTANCE.        55 

and  Isabella  have  often  been  reproached  with  need 
less  delays  in  the  matter  of  rendering  the  required 
assistance  ;  but  such  a  reproach  cannot  be  justified. 
The  custom  of  the  time  sanctioned,  even  if  it  did 
not  require,  that  the  court  should  accompany  the 
military  camp.  The  Government  was  not  only  at  the 
head  of  the  army,  but  it  was  actually  and  continu 
ously  in  the  field.  All  other  questions  were  absorbed 
by  the  military  interests  of  the  moment ;  and  it 
would  have  been  singular  indeed,  if,  in  such  a  situa 
tion,  the  resources  of  the  treasury  had  been  called 
upon  to  subsidize  an  expedition  that  as  yet  had  been 
unable  to  secure  the  approval  of  the  learned  men 
who  had  been  asked  to  consider  its  merits.  It  would 
be  difficult  to  show  that  the  course  taken  by  the 
monarchs  was  not  both  wise  and  natural.  The 
period  of  the  war  was  a  fit  time  in  which  to  ascertain 
the  merits  of  the  proposal ;  and  if  after  the  contest 
should  be  brought  to  an  end,  the  reports  should  be 
found  favorable,  the  expedition  could  be  fitted  out 
with  such  assistance  as  might  comport  with  the  con 
dition  of  the  treasury  and  the  necessities  of  the  case. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  it  was  not  singular  that 
Columbus  was  at  this  time  wearied  and  discouraged 
by  the  delays.  The  end  of  the  war  was  still  involved 
in  great  uncertainty,  and  there  was  no  assurance  that 
even  at  the  return  of  peace  his  proposals  would  re 
ceive  the  royal  approval  and  support.  It  was  not 
unnatural,  then,  that  he  began  to  think  of  applying 
elsewhere  for  assistance.  In  the  spring  of  1488  he 
wrote  to  the  king  of  Portugal,  asking  permission  to 


$6  CHRISTOPHER    COLUMBUS. 

return  to  that  country.  The  reply,  received  on  the 
2oth  of  March,  not  only  extended  the  desired  invita 
tion,  but  also  gave  him  the  significant  assurance  of 
protection  against  any  suits  of  a  criminal  or  civil 
nature  that  might  be  pending  against  him.  About 
the  same  time  he  seems  also  to  have  received  a 
letter  from  Henry  VII.  of  England,  inviting  him  to 
that  country,  and  holding  out  certain  vague  promises 
of  encouragement.  Though  this  letter  was  doubtless 
the  fruit  of  the  efforts  made  by  his  brother  Bar 
tholomew,  there  is  no  evidence  that  Columbus  ever 
thought  favourably  of  accepting  the  invitation.  Why 
it  was  that  he  delayed  going  to  Portugal  until  late  in 
the  autumn  cannot  be  determined  with  certainty.  It 
is,  however,  not  difficult  to  conjecture.  Harrisse 
has  found  in  the  treasury- books  memoranda  of  small 
amounts  of  money  paid  to  Columbus  from  time  to 
time  during  his  stay  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Spanish 
court.  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  were  sufficiently  in 
terested  in  the  project  to  be  unwilling  that  he  should 
carry  his  proposition  to  another  monarch.  At  least, 
they  were  anxious  that  he  should  not  commit  himself 
elsewhere  until  they  should  have  had  opportunity  to 
examine  into  the  project  with  care ;  and  then,  at  the 
close  of  the  war,  if  it  seemed  best,  they  would  give 
him  the  needed  support.  Accordingly,  elaborate  prep 
arations  for  a  new  hearing  were  at  once  made.  No  less 
than  three  royal  orders  were  issued,  —  one  summon 
ing  Columbus  to  a  council  of  learned  men  at  Seville ; 
one  directing  the  city  authorities  to  provide  lodg 
ings  for  the  navigator,  as  for  an  officer  of  the  govern- 


ATTEMPTS   TO   SECURE   ASSISTANCE.        57 

ment ;  another  commanding  the  magistrates  of  the 
cities  along  the  way  to  furnish  accommodations  for 
him  and  for  his  attendants. 

These  orders  were  all  carried  out ;  but  the  con 
ference  was  postponed,  and  finally  interrupted  by  the 
opening  of  the  campaign  for  the  summer.  The  an 
nals  of  Seville  contain  a  statement  that  in  this  cam 
paign  Columbus  was  found  fighting  and  "  giving 
proofs  of  the  distinguishing  valor  which  accompanied 
his  wisdom  and  his  lofty  desires."  What  we  posi 
tively  know  of  the  course  of  events  may  be  summed 
up  as  follows.  On  the  3d  of  July,  1487,  he  received 
the  second  stipend  in  money.  At  the  end  of  the 
following  August  we  find  him  at  the  siege  of  Malaga. 
In  the  winter  of  1487-88  he  was  at  Cordova,  when 
his  relations  with  Beatriz  Enriquez  resulted  in  the 
birth  of  his  son  Fernando  on  the  i5th  of  August, 
1488.  On  the  1 6th  of  June  of  this  year  Columbus 
received  the  third  allowance  of  money.  Early  in  the 
spring  he  had  asked  for  permission  to  return  to 
Portugal,  and  the  letter  granting  his  request  bears 
date  of  the  20th  of  March.  The  journey  was  not 
undertaken,  however,  until  after  the  birth  of  his  son. 
When  he  went,  and  how  long  he  remained  in  Portugal, 
are  uncertain ;  for  the  only  positive  proof  that  he 
took  the  journey  at  all  is  a  memorandum  in  his  own 
handwriting,  dated  at  Lisbon  in  December  of  1488. 
It  is,  however,  interesting  to  note  that  this  memo 
randum,  made  in  his  copy  of  Cardinal  d'Ailly's 
"  Imago  Mundi,"  calls  attention  to  the  return  of  Diaz 
from  his  voyage  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  It  is, 


58  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

however,  definitely  ascertained  that  he  returned  in 
the  spring  of  1489  ;  for  on  the  i2th  of  May  of  that 
year  an  order  was  issued  to  all  the  authorities  of  the 
cities  through  which  he  passed,  to  furnish  him  all 
needed  support  and  assistance  at  the  royal  expense. 

The  fact  that  this  is  the  last  time  that  Columbus 
figures  in  the  order-books  of  the  treasury  has  led 
Harrisse  to  infer  that  the  navigator  saw  no  immediate 
chance  of  success,  and  so  for  a  time  abstained  from 
the  further  pressing  of  his  suit. 

We  are  thus  brought  to  the  autumn  of  1489,  when 
Columbus,  seeing  little  reason  for  hope,  but  still  not 
so  discouraged  as  to  abandon  his  cause,  formed  an 
acquaintance  which  proved  to  be  of  incalculable 
value.  How  the  acquaintance  came  about,  we  have 
no  means  of  knowing.  The  authorities  are  so  at 
variance  with  one  another  on  the  subject  that  there 
has  been  much  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  time 
when  the  acquaintance  was  formed.  Irving  and  the 
larger  number  of  modern  writers  have  supposed  that 
the  events  which  resulted  from  this  connection  oc 
curred  soon  after  Columbus  entered  Spain.  Harrisse, 
however,  has  pointed  out  with  great  acumen  the  diffi 
culties  in  the  way  of  accepting  this  supposition,  and 
has  established  at  least  an  overwhelming  probability 
that  the  residence  of  the  navigator  with  the  Duke  of 
Medina  Celi  extended  from  the  early  months  of  1490 
to  the  end  of  1491. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century  Spain 
was  still  very  largely  made  up  of  principalities  that 
were  practically  independent.  Two  of  these  were 


ATTEMPTS   TO  SECURE  ASSISTANCE.        59 

possessed  and  governed  by  the  Dukes  of  Medina 
Sidonia  and  Medina  Celi.  In  the  wars  against  Na 
ples,  as  well  as  in  the  long  struggle  against  the 
Moors,  these  noblemen  fitted  out  expeditions  and 
conducted  campaigns  with  something  like  regal  in 
dependence  and  magnitude.  They  lived  in  royal 
splendour,  and  dispensed  a  royal  hospitality.  As 
their  vast  states  lay  along  the  sea-coast  at  the 
southwest  of  Spain,  where  they  had  ships  and  ports, 
as  well  as  hosts  of  retainers,  it  is  not  singular  that 
this  enterprising  refugee  from  the  Spanish  camp 
found  his  way  into  their  domains. 

With  Medina  Sidonia,  Columbus  seems  to  have  had 
no  special  success,  though  the  nobleman  is  reported 
to  have  given  him  many  interviews.  The  very  splen 
dour  of  the  project  may  have  thrown  over  it  such  a 
colouring  of  improbability  as  to  raise  a  feeling  of 
distrust.  To  the  hard-headed  old  hero  of  so  many 
campaigns,  the  proposal  was  simply  the  undertaking 
of  an  Italian  visionary. 

But  upon  Medina  Celi  the  navigator  made  a  more 
favourable  impression.  Unfortunately,  we  are  de 
pendent  for  information  almost  solely  upon  the  state 
ments  of  the  duke.  But  the  narrative  has  the  air  of 
probability.  He  says  that  he  entertained  Columbus  for 
two  years  at  his  house.  At  one  time  he  had  gone  so 
far  as  to  set  apart  and  fit  out  several  of  his  own  ships 
for  the  purposes  of  an  expedition ;  but  it  suddenly 
occurred  to  him  that  an  enterprise  of  such  magnitude 
and  importance  should  go  forth  under  no  less  sanction 
than  that  of  the  sovereign  power.  Finding  that 


60  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

Columbus  in  his  disappointment  had  decided  to  turn 
next  to  the  king  of  France,  the  duke  determined  to 
write  to  Queen  Isabella  and  recommend  him  strongly 
to  her  favourable  consideration.  Among  other  things, 
he  wrote  that  the  glory  of  such  an  enterprise,  if  suc 
cessful,  should  be  kept  by  the  monarchs  of  Spain- 
Of  the  kind  favour  of  the  duke  there  can  be  no 
question ;  for  the  letter  of  introduction  carried  by 
•Columbus  is  still  preserved.  This  important  docu 
ment  not  only  commends  the  bearer  to  favourable 
consideration,  but  it  also  asks  that  in  case  the  favour 
should  be  granted,  the  duke  himself  might  have  the 
privilege  of  a  share  in  the  enterprise,  and  that  the 
expedition  might  be  fitted  out  at  his  own  port  of 
St.  Marie,  as  a  recompense  for  having  waived  his 
privilege  in  favour  of  the  grant. 

During  the  next  year  and  a  half  the  prospect 
seemed  in  no  way  more  propitious.  Columbus,  even 
though  he  now  had  the  support  of  Medina  Cell,  must 
have  been  reduced  to  something  like  desperation. 
The  court  was  making  preparations  for  a  final  cam 
paign  against  Granada,  with  a  full  determination  never 
to  raise  the  siege  until  the  Spanish  flag  should  float 
above  the  last  Moorish  citadel.  Columbus  knew  that 
when  once  the  campaign  should  be  entered  upon,  it 
would  be  vain  to  expect  any  attention  to  his  cause. 
Accordingly,  he  pressed  for  an  immediate  answer. 
The  sovereigns  called  upon  the  queen's  confessor, 
Talavera,  to  obtain  the  opinions  of  the  scientific  men 
and  to  report  their  decision.  This  order  was  com 
plied  with;  but  after  due  consideration,  a  majority 


ATTEMPTS   TO  SECURE  ASSISTANCE.        61 

decided  that  the  proposed  scheme  was  vain  and 
impossible. 

This  answer  would  seem  to  have  been,  for  the  time 
at  least,  conclusive  ;  but  the  men  consulted  were  by 
no  means  unanimous.  On  the  contrary,  several  of 
the  learned  members  strenuously  exerted  themselves 
in  favour  of  the  enterprise.  Of  these  the  most  ear 
nest  and  influential  was  the  friar  Diego  de  Deza,  who> 
owing  to  his  influential  position  as  tutor  of  Prince 
John,  had  ready  access  to  the  royal  ear.  The  matter, 
therefore,  was  not  peremptorily  dismissed.  The  mon- 
archs,  instead  of  rejecting  the  application  outright,  or 
dered  Talavera  to  inform  Columbus  that  the  expense 
of  the  war  and  the  cares  attending  it  made  it  impossi 
ble  to  undertake  any  new  enterprise ;  but  that  when 
peace  should  be  assured,  the  sovereigns  would  have  lei 
sure  and  inclination  to  reconsider  the  whole  question. 

Disheartened  and  indignant  at  what  he  considered 
nothing  more  than  a  courtly  method  of  evading  and 
dismissing  his  suit,  Columbus  resolved  immediately  to 
turn  his  back  upon  the  Spanish  court.  For  six  years 
he  had  now  pleaded  his  cause,  apparently  in  vain. 
Hoping  for  nothing  further,  he  determined  to  seek 
the  patronage  of  the  king  of  France. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that,  taking  his  boy  Diego 
with  him,  he  made  his  way  to  that  very  seaport  town 
upon  which  a  little  later  he  was  to  bestow  an  undying 
fame  by  embarking  from  it  on  his  memorable  expedi 
tion.  Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  Medina  Celi  had 
given  him  a  home,  he  must  have  been  reduced  to  ex 
treme  poverty.  He  seems  not  only  to  have  travelled 


62  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

on  foot,  but  also  to  have  been  under  the  necessity  of 
begging  even  for  a  crust  of  bread. 

Just  before  he  was  to  reach  the  port  at  Palos,  Co 
lumbus  stopped  at  the  gate  of  the  convent  of  Santa 
Maria  de  la  Rabida  to  ask  for  food  and  water  for  him 
self  and  his  little  boy.  It  happened  that  the  prior  of 
the  convent  was  Juan  Parez  de  Marchena,  a  friar  who 
had  once  been  the  confessor  of  Queen  Isabella.  He 
appears  to  have  had  some  geographical  knowledge ; 
for  he  at  once  interested  himself  in  the  conversation 
of  Columbus,  and  was  greatly  impressed  with  the 
grandeur  of  his  views.  On  hearing  that  the  naviga 
tor  was  to  abandon  Spain  and  turn  to  the  court  of 
France,  his  patriotism  was  aroused.  He  not  only 
urged  the  hospitality  of  the  convent  upon  the  travel 
ler  until  further  advice  could  be  taken,  but  within  a 
few  days  he  enlisted  two  or  three  persons  of  influence 
for  his  cause.  One  of  these  was  Garcia  Fernandez, 
a  physician ;  another  was  Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon,  an 
experienced  navigator  of  Palos.  Pinzon,  on  hearing 
what  was  proposed,  was  so  fully  convinced  of  the  fea 
sibility  of  the  plan  that  he  offered  to  bear  the  expense 
of  the  new  application,  and,  if  successful,  to  assist  the 
expedition  with  his  purse  and  his  person. 

But  it  was  to  the  prior  of  the  convent  that  Colum 
bus  was  to  be  most  indebted.  The  result  of  their 
several  interviews  was  the  determination  that  the 
queen's  old  confessor  should  make  one  further  ap 
peal.  With  this  end  in  view,  a  courier  was  despatched 
with  a  letter.  It  was  successful.  After  a  wearisome 
journey  of  fourteen  days,  the  messenger  returned  with 


ATTEMPTS   TO  SECURE   ASSISTANCE.       63 

a  note  summoning  Perez  to  the  royal  court,  then  en 
camped  about  Granada.  At  midnight  of  the  same 
day  the  prior  mounted  his  mule  and  set  out  on  his 
mission  of  persuasion. 

On  arriving  at  the  camp,  Perez  was  received  with 
a  welcome  that  gave  him  great  freedom.  As  the 
queen's  old  confessor,  he  had  immediate  access  to 
the  royal  presence,  and  he  pleaded  the  project  of  the 
navigator  with  fervid  enthusiasm.  He  defended  the 
scientific  principles  on  which  it  was  founded ;  he 
urged  the  unquestionable  capacity  of  Columbus  to 
carry  out  the  undertaking ;  he  pictured  not  only  the 
advantages  that  must  come  from  success,  but  also  the 
glory  that  would  accrue  to  the  Government  under 
whose  patronage  success  should  be  achieved. 

The  queen  listened  with  attention.  It  is  interest 
ing  to  note  that  the  cause  was  warmly  seconded  by 
the  queen's  favourite,  the  same  Marchioness  de  Moya 
whose  life  had  been  imperilled  by  the  dagger  of  the 
Moorish  fanatic.  A  decision  was  reached  without 
much  delay.  The  queen  not  only  requested  that 
Columbus  might  be  sent  to  her,  but  she  gave  the 
messengers  a  purse  to  bear  the  necessary  expenses, 
and  to  enable  the  maritime  suitor  to  travel  and 
present  himself  with  decency  and  comfort. 

The  successful  friar  at  once  returned  to  the  con 
vent,  and  reported  the  result  of  his  mission  to  his 
waiting  friends.  Without  delay,  Columbus  exchanged 
his  garb  for  one  suited  to  the  atmosphere  of  the  court, 
and  set  out  for  the  royal  presence. 

In  his  journal,  as  quoted  by  Las  Casas,  Columbus 


64  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

tells  us  that  he  arrived  at  Granada  in  time  to  see  the 
end  of  that  memorable  war.  After  a  struggle  of 
nearly  eight  hundred  years,  the  Crescent  had  at  length 
succumbed  to  the  Cross,  and  the  banners  of  Spain 
were  planted  on  the  highest  tower  of  the  Alhambra. 
The  jubilee  that  followed  had  all  the  characteristics  of 
Spanish  magnificence.  But  in  these  festivities  Colum 
bus  probably  took  only  the  part  of  an  observer.  By 
one  of  the  Spanish  historians  he  is  represented  as 
"  melancholy  and  dejected  in  the  midst  of  general 
rejoicings." 

As  soon  as  the  festivities  were  over,  his  cause  had  a 
hearing.  Fernando  de  Talavera,  now  elevated  to  the 
archbishopric  of  Granada,  was  appointed  to  carry  on 
the  negotiations.  At  the  very  outset,  however,  diffi 
culties  arose  that  seemed  to  be  insuperable.  Colum 
bus  would  listen  to  none  but  princely  conditions.  He 
made  the  stupendous  mistake  of  demanding  that  he 
should  be  admiral  and  viceroy  over  all  the  countries 
he  might  discover.  As  pecuniary  compensation,  he 
also  asked  for  a  tenth  of  all  gains  either  by  trade  or 
conquest. 

It  can  hardly  be  considered  singular  that  the  cour 
tiers  were  indignant  at  what  they  regarded  as  his  ex 
travagant  requirements.  Though  Columbus  had  seen 
much  and  hard  service  at  sea,  his  experience  hitherto 
had  not  been  of  a  nature  to  reveal  any  extraordinary 
ability.  For  six  years  he  had  been  simply  a  wan 
dering  suppliant  for  royal  favour.  What  he  now 
demanded  was  to  be  put  into  the  very  highest  rank  in 
the  realm.  As  admiral  and  viceroy  he  would  stand 


ATTEMPTS   TO  SECURE  ASSISTANCE.       65 

next  to  the  sovereigns  on  land,  as  well  as  on  sea. 
What  he  asked  as  compensation,  though  it  would 
stimulate  every  temptation  to  abuse,  was  not  of  so 
unreasonable  a  nature.  But  to  promote  this  obscure 
navigator,  and  a  foreigner  at  that,  over  all  the  veterans 
who  had  for  perhaps  half  a  century  been  faithfully 
earning  recognition,  seemed  very  naturally  to  the 
archbishop  preposterous  indeed.  One  of  the  cour 
tiers  observed  with  a  sneer  that  it  was  a  shrewd  ar 
rangement  that  he  proposed,  whereby  in  any  event 
he  would  have  the  honor  of  the  command  and  the 
rank,  while  he  had  nothing  whatever  to  lose  in  case 
of  failure.  Though  Columbus,  doubtless  remember 
ing  the  offer  of  Pinzon,  offered  to  furnish  one  eighth 
of  the  cost,  on  condition  of  having  one  eighth  of  the 
profits,  his  terms  were  pronounced  inadmissible.  The 
commission  represented  to  Jhe  queen  that,  even  in 
case  of  success,  the  demands  would  be  exorbitant, 
while  in  case  of  failure,  as  evidence  of  extraordinary 
credulity,  they  would  subject  the  Crown  to  ridicule. 

More  than  all  this,  the  terms  demanded  were  of 
such  a  nature  as  to  stir  the  jealousy  and  hostility  of 
all  the  less  fortunate  naval  commanders.  Columbus 
has  been  represented  by  Irving  and  many  of  the 
other  biographers  as  having  shown  in  these  demands 
a  loftiness  of  spirit  and  a  firmness  of  purpose  that 
are  worthy  of  the  highest  commendation.  But  when 
one  looks  at  the  far-reaching  consequences  of  the 
terms  insisted  upon,  one  can  hardly  fail  to  see  in  them 
the  source  of  very  much  of  the  unhappiness  and 
opposition  that  followed  him  throughout  his  career. 
5 


66  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

The  strenuousness  of  his  terms,  by  throwing  wide 
open  the  door  to  every  form  of  abuse,  detracted  from 
his  happiness  and  diminished  his  claim  to  greatness. 

But  Columbus  would  listen  to  nothing  less  than  all 
these  conditions.  More  moderate  terms  were  of 
fered,  and  such  as  now  seem  in  every  way  to  have 
been  honourable  and  advantageous.  But  all  was  in 
vain.  He  would  not  cede  a  single  point  in  his  de 
mands.  The  negotiations  accordingly  had  to  be 
broken  off.  He  determined  to  abandon  the  court 
of  Spain  forever  rather  than  detract  one  iota  from 
the  dignity  of  the  great  enterprise  he  had  in  view. 
We  are  told  that,  taking  leave  of  his  friends,  he 
mounted  his  mule  and  sallied  forth  from  Santa  Fe, 
intending  immediately  to  present  his  cause  at  the 
court  of  France. 

But  no  sooner  had  he  gone  than  the  friends  who 
had  ardently  supported  him  were  filled  with  some 
thing  like  consternation.  They  determined  to  make 
one  last  appeal  directly  to  the  queen.  The  agents  of 
this  movement  were  the  royal  treasurer,  Luis  de 
Santangel,  and  Alonzo  de  Quintanilla.  Santangel  was 
the  one  who  presented  the  cause.  On  two  points  he 
placed  special  stress,  and  he  urged  them  with  great 
power  and  eloquence.  The  first  may  be  condensed 
into  the  phrase  that  while  the  loss  would,-  in  any  event, 
be  but  trifling,  the  gain,  in  case  of  success,  would  be 
incalculable.  In  the  second  place  he  urged  that  if 
the  enterprise  were  not  undertaken  by  Spain,  it  would 
doubtless  be  taken  up  by  one  of  the  rival  nations  and 
carried  to  triumphant  success.  He  then  appealed  to 


ATTEMPTS   TO  SECURE  ASSISTANCE,      67 

what  the  queen  was  in  the  habit  of  doing  for  the 
glory  of  God,  the  exaltation  of  the  Church,  and  the 
extension  of  her  own  power  and  dominion.  Here,  it 
was  urged,  was  an  opportunity  to  surpass  them  all. 
He  called  attention  to  the  offer  of  Columbus  to  bear 
an  eighth  of  the  expense,  and  advised  her  that 
the  requisites  for  the  enterprise  would  not  exceed 
three  thousand  crowns.  The  Marchioness  de  Moya 
was  present,  and  added  her  eloquence  to  that  of 
Santangel. 

These  representations  had  the  desired  effect,  and 
the  queen  resolved  on  the  spot  to  undertake  the  en 
terprise.  The  story,  so  often  repeated,  that  the  queen 
pledged  her  jewels  for  the  necessary  expense,  rests 
upon  no  contemporaneous  evidence,  and  has  recently 
been  shown  to  be  extremely  improbable.  It  was  not 
necessary,  for  Santangel  declared  that  he  was  ready  to 
supply  the  money  out  of  the  treasury  of  Aragon.  The 
adoption  of  the  cause  by  the  queen  was  complete  and 
unconditional. 

It  was  in  the  narrow  pass  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Elvira, 
a  few  miles  from  Granada,  that  the  swift  messenger  of 
this  good  news  overtook  Columbus  on  his  dejected 
retreat.  No  very  fertile  fancy  is  required  to  imagine 
with  some  confidence  the  emotions  of  the  explorer  as 
he  listened  to  the  story  of  the  queen's  new  decision. 
Turning  the  rein,  he  hastened  his  jaded  mule  with  all 
possible  speed  to  the  royal  court  at  Santa  Fe. 

For  reasons  which  it  is  not  easy  to  understand, 
there  were  still  considerable  delays  before  the  requi 
site  papers  received  their  final  signature.  Whether 


68  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

there  were  disagreements  still  to  be  adjusted  cannot 
now  be  known.  Columbus  returned  to  the  court 
early  in  February,  but  it  was  not  until  the  lyth  of 
April  that  the  stipulations  had  been  duly  made  out 
and  signed. 

In  form  the  papers  were  the  work  of  the  royal  sec 
retary,  but  they  received  the  assent  and  signature  of 
both  monarchs.  The  principal  commission  is  of  so 
much  importance  that  it  is  here  given  in  full :  — 

1.  First,  your  Highnesses,  in  virtue  of  your  dominion 
over  the  said  seas,  shall  constitute  from  this  time  forth  the 
said  Don  Christopher  Columbus  your  admiral  in  all  the 
islands  and  territories  which  he  may  discover  or  acquire 
in  the  said  seas,  this  power  to  continue  in  him  during  his 
life,  and  at  his  death  to  descend  to  his  heirs  and  succes 
sors  from  one  to  another  perpetually,  with  all  the  digni 
ties  and  prerogatives  appertaining  to  the  said  office,  and 
according  to  the  manner  in  which  this  dignity  has  been 
held  by  Don  Alonzo  Henriquez,  your  High  Admiral  of 
Castile,    and   by  the   other    admirals    in    their    several 
districts. 

2.  Furthermore,  your  Highnesses  shall  constitute  the 
said  Don  Christopher  Columbus  your  viceroy  and  gov 
ernor-general  in  all  the  said  islands  and  territories  to  be 
discovered  in  the  said  seas  ;  and  for  the  government  of 
each  place  three  persons  shall  be  named  by  him.  out  of 
which  number  your  Highnesses  shall  select  one  to  hold 
the  office  in  question. 

3.  Furthermore,  in  the  acquisition  by  trade,  discovery, 
or  any  other  method,  of  all  goods,  merchandise,  pearls 
precious  stones,  gold,  silver,  spices,  and  all  other  articles, 
within  the  limits  of  the  said  admiralty,  the  tenth  part  of 
their  value  shall  be  the  property  of  the  said  Don  Chris 
topher  Columbus,  after  deducting  the  amount  expended 


ATTEMPTS   TO  SECURE   ASSISTANCE.       69 

in  obtaining  them,  and  the  other  nine  tenths  shall  be  the 
property  of  your  Highnesses. 

4.  Furthermore,  if  any  controversy  or  law-suit  should 
arise  in  these  territories  relating  to  the  goods  which  he 
may  obtain  there,  or  relating  to  ajiy  goods  which  others 
may  obtain  by  trade  in  the  same  places,  the  jurisdiction 
in  the  said  cases  shall,  by  virtue  of  his  office  of  admiral, 
pertain  to  him  alone   or  his  deputy,  provided   the   said 
prerogative  belong  to  the  office  of  admiral,  according  as 
that  dignity  has  been  held  by  the  above-mentioned  Admi 
ral  Don  Alonzo  Henriquez,  and  the  others  of  that  rank  in 
their  several  districts,  and  provided  the  said  regulation 
be  just. 

5.  Furthermore,  in  the  fitting  out  of  any  fleets  for  the 
purpose  of  trade   in  the  said  territories,   the  said   Don 
Christopher  Columbus  shall  on  every  such  occasion  be 
allowed  the  privilege  of  furnishing  one  eighth  of  the  ex 
penses  of  the  expedition,  and  shall  at  such  times  receive 
an  eighth  part  of  the  profits  arising  therefrom." 

In  the  formal  commission  we  find  these  words  : 

"  We  therefore  by  this  commission  confer  on  you  the 
office  of  admiral,  viceroy,  and  governor,  to  be  held  in 
hereditary  possession  forever,  with  all  the  privileges  and 
salaries  pertaining  thereto." 

Surely  these  were  extraordinary  powers.  From  any 
unjust  exercise  of  supreme  authority  in  the  lands  Co 
lumbus  might  discover,  there  was  to  be  no  appeal. 
The  authority  was  limited,  moreover,  by  neither  cus 
tom  nor  method.  In  the  matter  of  governorships  he 
was  to  have  the  sole  right  of  nomination,  and  in  all 
questions  of  dispute  in  regard  to  his  own  interest  in 
goods  obtained  either  by  himself  or  by  anybody  else, 
he  or  his  deputy  was  to  have  sole  jurisdiction. 


70  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

The  temptation  to  exercise  these  powers  for  the 
oppression  of  a  barbarous  people  would  seem,  even 
under  the  most  favourable  circumstances,  to  be  quite  as 
much  as  human  nature  could  bear.  But  the  circum 
stances  were  not  favourable.  The  danger  was  in  the 
fact  that  a  high  pecuniary  premium  was  put  upon  the 
abuse  of  authority. 

The  promise  of  a  tenth  of  all  that  the  Admiral 
might  acquire  by  trade,  discovery,  "  or  any  other 
method,"  was  a  powerful  stimulant  to  cruelty  and 
cupidity.  Unfortunately,  the  age  was  one  when  every 
people  that  did  not  avow  Christianity  was  regarded  as 
legitimate  spoil  for  the  Christian  invader.  This  fact 
took  away  the  last  feeble  guarantee  of  public  opinion. 
In  estimating  the  character  of  Columbus  we  must  re 
member  that  he  was  subjected  to  the  temptations  of 
unlimited  authority,  of  immeasurable  opportunity,  and 
of  exemption  from  all  accountability,  either  to  the 
Government  or  to  public  opinion.  His  place  in  history 
must  ultimately  be  determined  by  the  manner  in 
which  it  shall  be  shown  that  he  administered  this 
trust. 

The  fact  should  not  be  overlooked  that  there  was 
always  a  powerful  religious  motive  in  all  the  plans  of 
Columbus.  One  of  his  purposes  in  seeking  to  reach 
eastern  Asia  by  sailing  westward  was  an  opening  of 
the  way  for  the  conversion  of  the  people  to  Chris 
tianity.  His  writings  abound  in  expressions  of  this 
desire.  In  all  his  plans  for  his  expedition  he  made 
prominent  his  wish  to  gain  the  means  necessary  for 
the  conquest  of  the  Holy  Land.  In  his  nature  and 


ATTEMPTS   TO  SECURE   ASSISTANCE.      71 

his  faith  there  was  much  of  the  religious  zeal  of  the 
mediaeval  Crusader,  united  with  a  tendency  to  in 
dulge  in  the  fervid  religious  rhetoric  of  the  seven 
teenth-century  Puritan.  Columbus  hoped,  by  these 
explorations  in  the  west,  to  acquire  the  means  of  suc 
ceeding  in  that  enterprise  of  bringing  Jerusalem  back 
into  the  control  of  Christianity,  which  for  three  centu 
ries  had  baffled  the  efforts  of  all  Christendom. 

During  the  six  long  years  of  Columbus's  waiting  in 
Spain,  the  relations  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  to  the 
projects  of  Columbus  were  such  as  to  merit  our  high 
commendation.  We  have  seen  that  immediately  after 
his  cause  was  presented  to  the  sovereigns  for  consid 
eration,  it  was  referred  to  the  most  learned  men  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  court.  It  is  difficult  to  conjecture 
how  any  disposition  of  the  question  could,  at  that 
time,  have  been  more  appropriate.  Whenever  the 
subject  was  presented  anew,  a  similar  reference  of  the 
subject  was  made.  From  no  one  of  these  references 
was  there  received  a  favourable  report.  But  when  the 
war  had  been  brought  to  a  close,  and  when,  in  conse 
quence,  there  was  opportunity  for  a  personal  exami 
nation  of  the  matter,  the  whole  subject  was  taken 
into  sympathetic  consideration.  The  romantic  and 
religious  elements  of  the  project  appealed  strongly  to 
Isabella.  Ferdinand  acted  with  characteristic  cau 
tion.  The  needed  money  appears  to  have  been 
taken  from  the  chest  of  the  king,  but  only  on  condi 
tion  that  in  due  time  it  should  be  restored,  if  need 
be,  from  the  chest  of  the  queen.  Thus  it  may  be 
said  that  the  husband  loaned  the  trifling  subsidy  ne- 


72  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

cessary  for  the  enterprise,  on  the  security  of  his  wife. 
This  arrangement  suited  both  monarchs,  and  therefore 
both  signed  the  commissions  of  the  Admiral. 

If  we  were  asked  for  the  names  of  those  who  ren 
dered  the  highest  service  to  Columbus  during  this  try 
ing  period,  the  answer  would  not  be  easy.  In  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  the  court  Alfonso  de  Quinta- 
nilla  was  the  first  to  espouse  his  cause  with  ardour,  and 
he  remained  an  unswerving  advocate.  Among  those 
to  whom  the  cause  was  submitted  for  advice,  the 
ecclesiastic,  Diego  de  Deza,  is  entitled  to  the  credit 
of  having  been  the  first  and  the  most  faithful  of  sup 
porters.  The  Duke  of  Medina  Celi  gave  to  the  navi 
gator  the  support  which  detained  him  at  a  moment 
when  he  seemed  to  be  on  the  point  of  abandoning 
Spain  forever.  The  friar  of  La  Rabida,  Juan  Parez 
de  Marchena,  the  old  confessor  of  the  queen,  made  a 
successful  effort  to  renew  the  suit  after  all  hope  had 
been  abandoned.  And  finally,  when  the  demands  of 
Columbus  seemed  preposterous  for  their  magnitude, 
the  united  efforts  of  Santangel,  the  Marchioness  de 
Moya,  Quintanilla,  and  Talavera  succeeded  in  bring 
ing  the  queen  up  to  the  point  of  a  favourable  decision. 
To  all  of  these  advocates  no  small  quota  of  the  credit 
for  success  is  due.  But  in  distributing  this  credit 
there  must  be  no  forgetting  or  obscuring  of  the  work 
of  Columbus  himself.  We  have  seen  that  the  advo 
cacy  of  the  navigator  was  full  of  inconsistencies  and 
extravagances.  He  was  a  foreigner,  and  one  that 
looked  very  much  like  an  adventurer.  The  time  and 
the  circumstances  seemed  the  most  inopportune.  All 


ATTEMPTS   TO  SECURE   ASSISTANCE.        73 

these  facts  argued  strongly  against  his  cause.  But  in 
spite  of  them  all,  his  knowledge,  his  courage,  his  faith, 
his  tact,  and  his  persistency  were  enough  to  hold  a 
band  of  powerful  advocates  firmly  to  his  great  cause, 
and,  in  the  end,  bring  it  to  success.  Whatever  abate 
ments  from  an  unreasonable  glorification  of  Columbus 
modem  research  may  feel  compelled  to  make,  these 
are  great  qualities,  which  the  progress  of  time  can 
never  efface  or  obscure. 


74  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 


CHAPTER   III. 

THE    FIRST   VOYAGE. 

THE  commission  of  Columbus  bore  date  of  April  30, 
1492.  On  the  same  day  was  signed  a  royal  requisi 
tion  on  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Palos,  requiring 
them  to  furnish  at  their  own  expense  two  caravels  for 
the  expedition.  This  singular  proceeding  was  in  con 
sequence  of  some  offence  which  the  town  had  given 
the  king  and  queen,  for  which  the  people  had  been 
condemned  to  render  the  service  of  two  vessels  for 
the  period  of  twelve  months,  whenever  the  royal 
pleasure  should  call  for  them.  The  vessels  moreover 
were  to  be  armed  at  the  expense  of  the  town.  Within 
ten  days  from  the  sight  of  the  letter  the  authorities 
were  required  to  have  the  two  vessels  in  complete 
readiness  for  the  enterprise.  The  royal  treasury  was 
also  further  relieved  by  the  fact  that  they  were  re 
quired  to  furnish  the  money  for  the  wages  of  the  crew 
during  a  period  of  four  months. 

Another  royal  order  bearing  the  same  date  was  of 
greater  importance  in  its  influence  on  the  character  of 
the  expedition.  All  the  magistrates  in  the  realm  were 
informed  that  "  every  person  belonging  to  the  crews 
of  the  fleet  of  said  Christopher  Columbus  "  were  "  ex- 


THE  FIRST  VOYAGE.  75 

empt  from  all  hindrance  or  incommodity  either  in 
their  persons  or  goods  ;  "  and  that  they  were  "privi 
leged  from  arrest  or  detention  on  account  of  any 
offence  or  crime  which  may  have  been  committed  by 
them  up  to  the  date  of  this  instrument,  and  during 
the  time  they  may  be  on  the  voyage,  and  for  two 
months  after  their  return  to  their  homes." 

This  remarkable  order  must  have  been  inspired  by 
the  fear  that  the  requisite  crews  for  the  vessels  could 
not  readily  be  obtained.  The  special  inducements 
held  out  to  the  criminal  classes  appealed  to  every 
debtor,  to  every  defaulter,  and  to  every  criminal. 
Here  was  immunity  from  the  pursuit  of  justice.  Such 
an  order  could  hardly  have  failed  to  have  a  powerful 
influence  on  the  character  of  the  crew.  The  fleet  be 
came  a  refuge  for  runaway  criminals  and  debtors  ;  and 
accordingly  it  was  not  singular  that  sailors  of  respecta 
bility  were  slow  to  enlist.  Popular  opinion  at  Palos 
was  violently  opposed  to  the  expedition.  Though  the 
town  was  required  to  furnish  two  caravels  within  ten 
days  after  receiving  the  royal  order,  weeks  passed  be 
fore  the  necessary  vessels  could  be  procured.  A  third 
ship  was  provided  for  out  of  the  funds  furnished  for 
the  expedition.  Every  shipowner  refused  to  lend  his 
vessel  for  the  enterprise.  Another  royal  order  had  to 
be  issued,  authorizing  Columbus  to  press  the  ships  and 
men  into  the  service.  Meanwhile  the  mariners  of 
Palos  held  aloof,  partly  in  the  belief  that  the  proposed 
expedition  was  simply  the  work  of  a  monomaniac,  and 
partly  from  the  fact  that  the  ships  had  been  made  a 
refuge  for  criminals.  But  Juan  Parez,  the  friar  whose 


76  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

influence  had  already  made  itself  so  powerfully  felt, 
was  active  in  persuading  men  to  embark.  The  Pin- 
zons,  who,  it  will  be  remembered,  had  offered  to  de 
fray  one  eighth  of  the  expense,  now  came  forward  to 
aid  the  enterprise  with  their  money  and  their  per 
sonal  service.  Agreeing  to  take  command  of  two  of 
the  vessels,  their  wealth  and  their  influence  gave  a  new 
impulse  to  the  undertaking.  But  enlistments  went 
forward  very  slowly;  and  even  after  men  had  been 
enrolled,  the  least  cause  of  dissatisfaction  induced 
them  to  desert.  In  the  putting  of  the  ships  in  order, 
the  work  was  so  badly  done  as  to  justify  the  suspicion 
that  a  deliberate  effort  was  put  forth  to  make  them 
unseaworthy. 

Though  the  sovereigns  had  supposed  that  ten  days 
would  be  time  enough  to  put  the  fleet  in  readiness  for 
the  voyage,  it  was  with  the  utmost  difficulty  that  the 
work  was  accomplished  in  ten  weeks.  Columbus  had 
chosen  small  vessels  of  less  than  a  hundred  tons'  bur 
den  each,  believing  that  they  would  be  better  adapted 
for  service  along  the  coast  and  in  the  rivers.  It  has 
been  estimated  that  even  the  longest  of  them  was 
only  sixty-five  feet  in  length,  and  not  more  than  twenty 
feet  in  breadth.  The  "  Santa  Maria,"  commanded 
by  the  Admiral  himself,  was  the  only  one  that  was 
decked  midships.  The  others,  the  "  Pinta  "  and  the 
"  Nina,"  were  built  high  in  the  prow  and  stern,  that  they 
might  the  more  easily  mount  the  waves,  and  were  cov 
ered  only  at  the  ends.  The  "  Pinta  "  was  commanded 
by  Columbus' s  old  friend  Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon, 
while  his  brother,  Vincente  Yanez  Pinzon,  was  captain 


THE  FIRST  VOYAGE.  77 

of  the  "  Nina."  On  all  the  ships  there  were  a  hundred 
and  twenty  souls,  ninety  of  them  being  mariners. 

Harrisse  has  computed  the  sum  provided  for  the 
expedition  at  i,64o,poo  maravedis,  or  about  $3640. 
Of  this  amount  Santangel,  as  the  agent  of  the  mon- 
archs,  furnished  1,140,000  maravedis,  while  Colum 
bus,  aided  by  the  Pinzons,  provided  the  remaining  five 
hundred  thousand.  The  fleet's  contingent  contained 
a  notary  for  drawing  up  necessary  papers,  and  a  his 
toriographer  to  put  the  story  in  formal  order.  There 
was  an  interpreter  learned  in  all  Asiatic  tongues,  and 
a  metallurgist  to  examine  the  ores.  Though  the  fleet 
was  equipped  with  a  physician  and  a  surgeon,  it  does 
not  appear  that  it  had  a  priest.  The  squadron  was 
at  length  ready  to  put  to  sea.  We  are  told  that  on 
the  last  days  before  sailing,  everybody  in  Palos  was 
impressed  with  the  solemnity  of  the  undertaking. 
Officers  and  crew  united  in  going  to  the  church  in 
the  most  formal  manner  and  confessing  themselves, 
and  after  partaking  of  the  sacrament,  in  committing 
themselves  to  the  special  guidance  and  protection  of 
Heaven.  It  was  an  hour  before  sunrise,  on  Friday, 
the  3d  of  August,  when  the  ships  were  cut  from 
their  moorings  and  entered  upon  their  perilous 
adventure. 

Fortunately  we  are  not  without  Columbus's  own 
account  of  this  voyage.  The  Admiral  kept  a  diary, 
which,  though  it  is  not  now  known  to  be  in  existence, 
was  carefully  epitomized  by  Las  Casas,  and  the  ab 
stract,  very  largely  in  Columbus's  own  words,  is  pre 
served.  There  are  also  still  in  existence  the  two 


78  CPIRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

letters  of  Columbus  by  means  of  which  the  great  dis 
covery  was  formally  announced  to  the  world.  It  is  to 
these  three  priceless  documents  that  we  are  chiefly 
indebted  for  our  knowledge  of  the  voyage.  In  the 
introduction  to  the  diary  Columbus  says :  "  I  deter 
mined  to  keep  an  account  of  the  voyage,  and  to  write 
down  punctually  everything  we  performed  or  saw  from 
day  to  day."  He  also  adds :  "  Moreover,  besides 
describing  every  night  the  occurrences  of  the  day, 
and  every  day  those  of  the  preceding  night,  I  intend 
to  draw  up  a  nautical  chart  which  shall  contain  the 
several  parts  of  the  ocean  and  land  in  their  proper 
situations ;  and  also  to  compose  a  book  to  represent 
the  whole  by  pictures,  with  latitudes  and  longitudes, 
on  all  which  accounts  it  behooves  me  to  abstain  from 
sleep  and  make  many  efforts  in  navigation,  which 
things  will  demand  much  labour." 

The  contemplated  geographical  work  was  never 
written  ;  but  the  purpose  of  the  navigator  is  of  inter 
est,  as  it  creates  a  presumption  in  favor  of  carefulness 
in  the  preparation  of  the  diary. 

The  general  course  of  the  fleet  was  in  a  southwest 
erly  direction,  the  purpose  being  to  touch  at  the 
Canary  Islands.  This  intention  was  fortunate  ;  for  on 
Monday,  the  fourth  day  out,  the  rudder  of  the  "  Pinta  " 
become  loose,  and  threatened  to  make  a  continuance 
of  the  voyage  with  this  vessel  impossible.  The  Admi 
ral  suspected  that  the  accident  happened  with  the 
connivance  of  disaffected  members  of  the  crew.  Many 
of  the  men  had  shown  an  uncompromising  opposition 
to  the  expedition  before  setting  out,  and  there  could 


THE  F^RST   VOYAGE.  79 

be  no  doubt  that  any  accident  that  would  interrupt 
the  voyage  would  be  most  welcome.  The  "  Pinta,"  how 
ever,  was  in  command  of  Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon,  an 
officer  of  capacity  and  courage,  to  whose  faith  in  the 
enterprise  Columbus  had  already  been  largely  in 
debted  while  fitting  out  the  fleet  and  securing  the 
crew.  The  skill  and  vigour  of  the  commander  caused 
the  rudder  to  be  put  in  place ;  but  it  was  again  un 
shipped  on  the  following  day,  and  it  was  necessary  to 
put  into  port  for  repairs. 

Owing  to  delays  occasioned  by  the  condition  of 
the  "Pinta,"  it  was  not  until  the  i2th  of  August  that 
the  little  fleet  reached  port  in  one  of  the  Canary 
Islands.  Here  it  was  found  that  the  condition  of  the 
disabled  caravel  was  worse  than  had  been  supposed. 
Besides  having  her  rudder  out  of  order,  she  was 
leaky,  and  the  form  of  her  sails  seemed  not  to  be 
adapted  to  the  perils  of  an  Atlantic  voyage.  Colum 
bus  tried  to  find  another  vessel  for  which  he  could 
effect  an  exchange ;  however,  he  was  not  successful, 
and  so  it  was  found  necessary  to  delay  the  voyage 
until  the  little  ship  could  be  put  into  seaworthy 
condition.  The  rudder  was  made  secure,  the  form 
of  the  sails  was  changed,  and  every  practicable  pre 
caution  was  taken  to  prevent  leakage.  But  it  was 
not  until  the  6th  of  September  —  more  than  a  month 
from  the  day  of  leaving  the  port  at  Palos  —  that  the 
fleet  was  once  more  ready  to  sail. 

During  the  stay  at  the  Canaries  two  or  three  inter 
esting  things  happened.  Columbus  reports  that 
they  "  saw  a  great  eruption  of  flames  from  the  Peak 


8o  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

of  Teneriffe,  which  is  a  lofty  mountain."  But  more 
important  to  the  matter  in  hand  were  the  several 
reports  he  heard  in  regard  to  the  existence  of 
land  in  the  west.  The  Admiral  says  he  "  was  assured 
by  many  respectable  Spaniards  inhabiting  the  island 
of  Ferro  that  they  every  year  saw  land  to  the  west  of 
the  Canaries,"  and  also  that  "  others  of  Gomera 
affirmed  the  same  with  the  like  assurances."  He 
also  makes  note  of  the  fact  that  when  he  was  "  in  Por 
tugal  in  1484  there  came  a  person  to  the  king  from 
the  island  of  Madeira  soliciting  a  vessel  to  go  in  quest 
of  land,  which  he  affirmed  he  saw  every  year,  and 
always  of  the  same  appearance."  Still  further  he  says 
that  "  he  remembers  the  same  was  said  by  the  inha 
bitants  of  the  Azores,  and  described  as  in  a  similar 
direction,  and  of  the  same  shape  and  size." 

This  interesting  delusion,  which  is  supposed  to 
have  had  its  origin  in  certain  meteoric  appearances, 
had  taken  a  firm  hold  of  the  credulity  of  the  people. 
The  country  which  they  imagined  they  saw  in  the 
west  bore  the  name  of  the  isle  of  Brandon,  in  com 
memoration  of  Saint  Brandon,  a  Benedictine  monk  of 
the  sixth  century,  who,  it  was  believed,  spent  seven 
years  in  the  region  to  which  his  name  was  finally 
given.  Belief  in  the  existence  of  land  not  very  far 
west  of  the  Canary  group  was  current  in  the  fifteenth 
century,  and  several  expeditions  were  undertaken,  by 
order  of  the  king  of  Portugal,  for  the  discovery  of 
this  mystical  continent.  As  yet,  however,  the  re 
peated  failures  of  these  efforts  had  not  convinced  the 
inhabitants  of  the  islands  west  of  Africa  that  land 


THE  FIRST  VOYAGE.  81 

within  any  possible  range  of  vision  from  the  Canaries 
had  no  existence  except  in  the  imaginations  of  the 
beholders.  The  special  connection  of  this  credulity 
with  the  expedition  of  Columbus  is  in  the  influence 
which  it  must  have  had  upon  the  spirits  of  the  crew. 
While  there  was  an  air  of  mystery  about  it  that  may 
have  been  depressing  to  certain  temperaments,  to  the 
mass  of  the  crew  it  can  hardly  have  failed  to  give 
some  encouragement.  But  at  the  same  time  it  un 
doubtedly  provided  the  way  for  a  depressing  reaction 
when,  after  days  of  fruitless  sailing,  no  land  was 
discovered. 

On  the  morning  of  the  6th  of  September  the  little 
fleet  put  out  from  the  harbour  of  Gomera  and  entered 
again  upon  its  course.  A  report  was  brought  by  a 
vessel  from  the  neighbouring  island  of  Ferro  that 
there  were  three  Portuguese  caravels  cruising  in  search 
of  Columbus.  This  circumstance  was  interpreted  to 
mean  a  hostile  intent  on  the  part  of  the  king  of  Por 
tugal,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  Admiral  had  aban 
doned  his  service  and  resorted  to  the  patronage  of 
Spain.  But  if  the  report  was  true,  the  Spanish 
squadron  was  successful  in  evading  its  enemies.  The 
course  now  taken  was  due  west ;  but  owing  to  a 
strong  head-sea,  progress  for  several  days  was  very 
slow. 

We  have  already  had  occasion  to  see  that  Colum 
bus  never  attached  very  great  importance  to  the 
matter  of  precision  in  the  statement  of  fact.  The 
recent  scrutiny  to  which  his  writings  have  been  sub 
jected  has  revealed  so  many  contradictions  and  inac- 

6 


82  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

curacies  that  we  are  forced  into  the  belief  that  he 
often  used  words  in  a  very  general  rather  than  in  a 
specific  and  strictly  accurate  sense.  We  shall  not 
infrequently  have  occasion  to  note  this  habit  of  mind, 
—  a  peculiarity  which  it  will  be  necessary  to  remem 
ber  if  we  would  form  an  accurate  conclusion  as  to 
the  value  of  his  testimony.  He  seems  not  to  have 
been  without  conscience ;  but  it  is  not  too  much  to 
say  that  whenever  there  was  a  powerful  motive  for 
misrepresentation,  Columbus  did  not  hesitate  to  ask 
himself  whether  the  end  would  not  justify  the  means. 
The  modern  ethical  standard,  which  requires  absolute 
truthfulness  at  all  hazards,  did  not  prevail  at  the  end 
of  the  fifteenth  century ;  but  it  is  riot  without  much 
regret  that  even  at  that  period  we  find  one  whom  we 
would  gladly  rank  as  a  moral  hero  admitting  frankly 
that  he  systematically  prevaricated  in  order  to  con 
vey  a  false  impression.  If,  on  the  one  hand,  there 
are  those  who  will  succeed  in  finding  adequate 
excuse  for  the  misrepresentation  indulged  in,  on 
the  other  it  will  be  hard  to  find  any  one  who  will 
regard  such  misrepresentation  as  a  characteristic  of 
lofty  conscientiousness. 

In  the  journal  of  September  9  we  find  this 
entry :  — 

"  Sailed  this  day  nineteen  leagues,  and  determined  to 
count  less  than  the  true  number,  that  the  crew  might  not 
be  dismayed  if  the  voyage  should  prove  long." 

On  the  following  day  Columbus  says,  — 
"This  day  and  night  sailed  sixty  leagues,  at  the  rate 
of  ten  miles  an  hour,  which  are  two  leagues  and  a  half. 


THE  FIRST  VOYAGE.  83 

Reckoned  only  forty-eight  leagues,  that  the  crew  might 
not  be  terrified  if  they  should  be  long  upon  the  voyage." 

In  the  days  following,  similar  entries  were  made, 
always  with  the  same  end  in  view.  Interesting  evi 
dences  of  life  were  often  observed.  On  the  i3th  of 
September  one  of  the  crew  saw  a  tropical  bird,  which, 
it  was  believed,  never  goes  farther  than  twenty-five 
leagues  from  land.  On  the  i6th  large  patches  of  weed 
were  found  which  appeared  to  have  been  recently 
washed  away  from  land ;  on  account  of  which  the 
Admiral  writes  that  "  they  judged  themselves  to  be 
near  some  island ; "  "  the  continent,"  continues  the 
narrator,  "we  shall  find  farther  ahead."  These  indi 
cations  multiplied  from  clay  to  day.  On  the  i8th  the 
"  Pinta,"  which,  notwithstanding  her  bad  condition, 
was  a  swift  sailer,  ran  ahead  of  the  other  vessels,  the 
captain  having  informed  the  Admiral  that  he  had  seen 
large  flocks  of  birds  toward  the  west,  and  that  he 
expected  that  night  to  reach  land.  Though  as  yet 
they  had  only  reached  the  centre  of  the  Atlantic,  on 
the  i  Qth  the  ships  were  visited  by  two  pelicans,  —  birds 
which,  it  was  said,  were  not  accustomed  to  go  twenty 
leagues  from  land.  On  the  2ist  the  ocean  seemed  to 
be  covered  with  weeds ;  and  the  same  day  a  whale 
was  seen,  —  "  an  indication  of  land,"  says  the  journal, 
"  as  whales  always  keep  near  the  coast."  The  next  day 
a  wind  sprang  up,  whereupon  the  Admiral  observes  : 
"  This  head-wind  was  very  necessary  to  me,  for  my 
crew  had  grown  much  alarmed,  dreading  that  they 
never  should*  meet  in  these  seas  with  a  fair  wind  to 
return  to  Spain." 


84  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

On  September  25  the  disappointing  monotony  of 
these  indications  was  interrupted.  At  sunset  Pinzon 
called  out  from  his  vessel  that  he  saw  land.  The 
Admiral  says,  when  he  heard  him  declare  this,  he 
fell  down  on  his  knees  and  returned  thanks  to  God. 
Pinzon  and  his  crew  repeated  "  Gloria  in  excelsis 
Deo,"  as  did  the  crew  of  the  Admiral.  Those  on 
board  the  "  Nina "  ascended  the  rigging,  and  all 
declared  that  they  saw  land.  The  Admiral  judged 
that  the  land  was  distant  about  twenty-five  leagues. 
It  was  not  until  the  afternoon  of  the  26th  that  they 
discovered  that  what  they  had  taken  for  land  was 
nothing  but  clouds. 

As  revealed  by  the  journal,  the  events  of  each  day 
were  much  like  those  of  every  other.  The  most 
striking  feature  of  the  voyage  was  the  constantly 
occurring  indications  of  land.  After  the  little  fleet 
passed  mid-ocean  there  was  scarcely  a  day  that  did 
not  bring  some  sign  that  beckoned  them  on.  Sea 
weed  abounded,  and  as  a  sounding  of  two  hundred 
fathoms  revealed  nothing  but  a  steady  undercurrent 
of  the  ocean,  the  weeds  could  not  have  come  from 
the  bottom  of  the  sea.  At  one  time  a  green  rush  was 
found,  which,  the  commanders  thought,  must  have 
grown  in  the  open  air,  with  its  roots  in  the  soil. 
At  another,  a  piece  of  wood  was  taken  aboard  that 
gave  unmistakable  signs  of  having  been  somewhat 
curiously  wrought  by  the  hand  of  man.  But  the  most 
significant  tokens  were  the  birds.  They  appeared  in 
considerable  numbers  almost,  if  not  qufce,  every  day, 
many  of  them  known  to  be  unaccustomed  to  wan- 


THE  FIRST  VOYAGE.  85 

der  for  any  very  great  distance  from  land.  To 
every  thinking  man  on  board  the  squadron  they 
seemed  to  give  evidence  absolutely  unmistakable  that 
they  were  not  far  from  land,  and  that  the  object  of 
their  expedition  was  likely  to  be  successful.  The 
birds,  moreover,  so  far  as  any  general  direction  of 
their  flying  could  be  regarded  as  an  indication, 
seemed  to  have  their  home  in  a  southwesterly 
direction.  This  fact  led  the  commander  of  the 
"  Pinta  "  to  urge  the  Admiral  to  change  his  course. 
At  first  Columbus  thought  it  best,  in  spite  of  the 
course  of  the  birds,  to  keep  on  due  west.  But  at 
length  the  indications  were  so  unmistakable  and  so 
persistent  that  he  yielded,  and  set  the  rudders  for  a 
southwesterly  course.  But  for  this  incident,  seem 
ingly  very  trifling  in  itself,  the  fleet,  as  Humboldt 
has  remarked,  would  have  entered  the  Gulf  Stream 
before  touching  land,  and  would  have  been  borne  to 
a  landfall  somewhere  on  the  coast  of  the  future 
United  States. 

Many  of  the  later  historians  of  Columbus,  taking 
the  hint  from  Oviedo,  have  given  graphic  pictures 
of  the  way  in  which  the  skill  and  the  tact  of  the 
Admiral  prevented  the  crew  of  the  fleet  from  breaking 
out  into  mutinous  revolt  and  turning  the  vessels 
toward  home.  It  has  been  said  that  at  one  time 
there  was  a  serious  purpose  of  throwing  the  Admiral 
into  the  sea,  and  declaring  that  he  fell  overboard 
while  making  an  observation  ;  at  another,  that  Colum 
bus  found  himself  compelled  to  promise  that  unless 
land  was  discovered  within  three  days,  he  would 


86  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

abandon  the  expedition,  turn  about,  and  sail  for 
home.  But  these  stories  must  now,  for  the  most  part, 
be  regarded  as  apocryphal.  None  of  them  are 
mentioned  by  Columbus  himself,  nor  do  they  appear 
in  the  other  early  accounts  of  the  voyage.  No  hint 
of  mutiny  or  even  of  any  lack  of  due  subordination 
appears  in  the  searching  trials  of  1513  and  1515, 
when  every  event  that  could  possibly  have  a  bearing 
upon  the  methods  of  Columbus  was  brought  upon 
the  witness-stand.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  voyage 
was  for  the  most  part  an  uneventful  one,  save  as  its 
placid  progress  was  occasionally  excited  by  the  vari 
ations  of  the  compass,  an  unusual  amount  of  sea 
weed,  or  an  unwonted  flight  of  birds.  That  the 
hopes  and  fears  of  the  crews  were  alert  cannot  of 
course  be  doubted,  but  there  is  no  evidence  suffi 
cient  to  justify  the  belief  that  the  life  of  the  Admiral 
or  the  advance  of  the  expedition  was  ever  in  serious 
danger. 

In  the  evening  of  the  nth  of  October,  Columbus 
thought  that  he  discovered  a  light  moving  with  fitful 
gleams  in  the  darkness.  He  called  to  him  two  of  his 
companions,  one  of  whom  confirmed  his  impression, 
while  the  other  could  not.  The  journal  says  that 
"  The  Admiral  again  perceived  it  once  or  twice,  ap 
pearing  like  the  light  of  a  candle  moving  up  and 
down,  which  some  thought  an  indication  of  land." 
But  evidently  Columbus  did  not  regard  this  as  a  dis 
covery,  for  he  not  only  reminded  the  crew  of  the 
reward  of  a  pension  that  awaited  the  one  who  should 
first  see  land,  but  he  also  offered  a  silk  doublet  as  an 


THE  FIRST   VOYAGE.  87 

additional  inducement  to  the  search.  They  were  still 
some  forty-two  miles  from  the  coast,  which  lies  so 
low  that  it  could  hardly  have  been  seen  at  a  distance 
of  twenty.  It  was  four  hours  later  that  land  was  first 
unmistakably  seen  in  the  moonlight,  at  a  distance  of 
about  two  leagues.  There  can  be  no  question  that  if 
a  light  was  really  seen  at  all,  it  was  on  a  boat  at  some 
distance  from  the  shore.  A  reward  of  ten  thousand 
maravedis  per  year  had  been  promised  by  the  king 
and  queen  to  the  person  on  the  expedition  who 
should  first  descry  land.  Columbus  in  his  journal 
admits  that  land  was  first  seen  and  announced  by 
Rodrigo  de  Triana  of  the  "  Pinta  "  at  two  o'clock  on  the 
morning  of  October  i2th  ;  and  it  would  be  a  pleasure 
to  record  that  he  subsequently  had  sufficient  magna 
nimity  to  waive  his  own  very  absurd  claim  in  favour  of 
the  poor  sailor  to  whom  it  was  so  justly  due.  But 
after  his  return  he  set  up  the  demand  for  himself; 
and  to  him  it  was  promptly  adjudged  and  paid  by 
the  king  and  queen.  It  is  said  that  the  poor  sailor, 
thinking  himself  ignobly  defrauded,  renounced  Chris 
tianity  and  went  to  live  among  the  Mohammedans, 
whom  he  regarded  as  a  juster  people. 

It  was  then  on  Friday,  October  12,  that  the  fleet 
first  came  to  land  upon  an  island  which  the  natives 
called  Guanahani.  Early  in  the  morning  Columbus 
and  the  brothers  Pinzon  and  the  notary  entered  a 
boat  with  the  royal  standard  and  made  for  the  shore. 
The  rest  of  the  crews  immediately  followed.  As 
soon  as  they  had  landed,  the  requisite  formalities 
were  performed,  and  witnesses  were  summoned  to 


88  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

note  that,  before  all  others,  Columbus  took  posses 
sion  of  the  island  for  the  king  and  queen,  his  sove 
reigns.  He  gave  it  the  name  of  San  Salvador. 

Over  the  question  as  to  the  spot  where  Columbus 
first  landed  there  has  been  much  difference  of  opin 
ion.  The  narrative  of  the  Admiral  concerning  this 
important  part  of  his  voyage,  though  it  has  been  pre 
served  entire,  is  not  so  free  from  ambiguities,  or  so 
definite  in  its  positive  statements,  as  to  relieve  the 
subject  of  doubt.  The  reckoning  of  Columbus,  more 
over,  on  the  matter  of  longitude  and  latitude  was 
not  sufficiently  accurate  to  throw  much  light  on  the 
subject.  Accordingly,  several  of  the  Bahamas  have 
had  their  advocates.  The  modern  San  Salvador,  or 
Cat  Island,  was  believed  to  be  the  place  of  landing 
by  Humboldt  and  Irving.  South  of  Cat  Island  lie 
Watling's,  Samana,  Acklin,  and  the  Grand  Turk ;  and 
no  one  of  them  has  been  without  its  ardent  support 
ers.  Recently,  however,  the  most  careful  students 
of  the  problem  have  unmistakably  drifted  toward 
the  belief  that  the  spot  of  the  landfall  should  be  con 
fidently  fixed  upon  Watling's  Island. 

The  arguments  in  favour  of  this  locality  were  first 
elaborately  set  forth  by  Captain  Becher  in  a  volume 
published  in  1856,  and  were  followed  by  Peschel  two 
years  later  in  his  "  History  of  Modern  Discovery." 
Mr,  R.  H.  Major,  a  careful  student  of  the  subject,  was 
for  many  years  inclined  to  favour  Turk's  Island ;  but 
in  1870  he  conceded  that  the  weight  of  evidence  was 
in  favour  of  Watling's.  Lieutenant  Murdock  of  the 
American  navy  and  Mr.  Charles  A.  Schott  of  the 


THE  FIRST  VOYAGE.  89 

United  States  Coast  Survey  reached  the  same  conclu 
sion  by  independent  studies  in  1884,  as  did  also  Mr. 
Clements  R.  Markham  in  1889.  Finally,  and  per 
haps  most  important  of  all,  the  Bahamas  were  visited 
and  this  problem  was  carefully  studied  in  November 
of  1890  by  the  German  explorer  Herr  Rudolf  Cro- 
nau,  with  the  result  of  establishing  Watling's  Island  as 
the  site  of  the  landfall  beyond  any  reasonable  doubt. 

Cronau's  investigations  are  twofold  in  their  nature  : 
the  first  point  of  his  inquiry  being  devoted  to  the 
reasons  for  thinking  Watling's  the  island  on  which 
Columbus  landed ;  the  second,  to  establishing  the 
point  at  which  the  landfall  took  place.  Though 
it  is  on  this  last  point  that  special  significance  is  to 
be  attached  to  his  investigations,  it  may  not  be  out  of 
place  to  give  a  brief  summary  of  the  argument  as  a 
whole. 

Columbus  describes  the  island  as  low,  covered  with 
abundant  and  luxuriant  vegetation,  and  as  having  a 
large  body  of  water  in  the  interior.  In  one  place  he 
speaks  of  the  island  as  "  small,"  at  another  as  "  pretty 
large."  After  the  first  landing,  he  goes  N.  N.  E.  in 
the  small  boats,  and  soon  passes  through  a  narrow  en 
trance  into  a  harbour  "  large  enough  to  accommodate 
the  fleets  of  Christendom."  In  this  harbour  he  dis 
covers  an  admirable  site  of  a  fort,  which  he  describes 
with  minute  care.  He  says,  moreover,  that  the  part  of 
the  island  visited  is  protected  by  an  outlying  reef  of 
rocks  not  far  from  the  shore.  Las  Casas,  who  be 
came  very  familiar  with  the  islands  during  the  life  of 
Columbus,  and  who  probably  knew  where  the  first 


90  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

landing  was  made,  states  that  the  form  of  the  island 
was  oblong,  or  "bean-shaped."  The  length  of  Wat- 
ling's  Island  is  about  twelve  English  miles,  the  breadth 
between  four  and  six.  All  these  characteristics  apply 
to  Watling's,  and  in  their  entirety  they  apply  to  no 
other. 

There  are,  however,  certain  difficulties  in  the  way 
of  accepting  this  theory.  The  most  serious  is  the 
fact  that  the  rocks  off  the  northern,  eastern,  and 
southern  parts  of  the  island  are  so  formidable  as  to 
offer  no  safe  place  for  anchorage,  and  that  an  ap 
proach  from  none  of  these  directions  could  afford  the 
view  described  by  Columbus.  It  is  in  meeting  this 
difficulty  that  the  ingenious  theory  of  Cronau  is  of 
importance.  It  is  in  substance  as  follows. 

The  journal  of  Columbus  tells  us  that  on  Thursday, 
October  1 1,  the  ships  "encountered  a  heavier  sea  than 
they  had  met  with  before  in  the  whole  voyage."  It  also 
states  that  in  the  course  of  twenty- four  hours  they 
made  the  remarkable  run  of  fifty- nine  leagues,  run 
ning  at  times  "  ten  miles  an  hour,  at  others  twelve, 
at  others  seven."  In  the  evening  of  the  nth,  "from 
sunset  till  two  hours  after  midnight,"  the  average  rate 
was  "  twelve  miles  an  hour."  It  was  at  ten  o'clock 
that  Columbus  reports  that  he  saw  the  light,  and  con 
sequently  the  vessel  must  have  advanced  forty-eight 
miles  before  two  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  i2th, 
when  land  was  seen  by  Triana  from  the  "Pinta."  These 
facts,  together  with  the  extraordinary  length  of  the  run 
on  the  nth,  indicate  unmistakably  that  the  roughness 
of  the  sea  was  caused  by  a  strong  easterly  wind,  for 


THE  FIRST  VOYAGE.  91 

by  no  other  means  could  so  rapid  an  advance  have 
been  made.  At  "two  o'clock,"  says  the  Admiral, 
"land  was  discovered  at  a  distance  of  two  leagues." 
In  which  direction  the  land  lay  is  not  indicated.  All 
sails  "  except  the  square  sail "  were  taken  in,  and  the 
vessels  "  lay  to  "  till  day,  —  probably  about  four  or  five 
hours.  The  supposition  of  Cronau  is  that  a  wind 
which  up  to  two  o'clock  carried  them  when  under  full 
sail  twelve  miles  an  hour,  must  have  borne  the  ships, 
when  under  square  sail,  at  least  ten  or  fifteen  miles 
before  dawn.  It  would  have  been  impossible  in  a 
heavy  sea  to  land  on  the  rocky  coast  of  the  east  side  ; 
and  whatever  the  advance,  it  must  have  been  either 
on  the  north  or  on  the  south.  It  seems  reasonable 
to  suppose  that  the  fleet  found  itself  at  the  break  of 
day  west  of  the  island.  In  any  case,  good  seaman 
ship  required  that  they  should  seek  anchorage  in 
a  high  wind  on  the  lee,  or  west  side ;  and  accord 
ingly,  the  only  natural  course  was  for  them  to  turn 
about  and  approach  the  island  from  the  west.  On 
the  supposition  that  this  course  was  pursued,  no  diffi 
culties  whatever  are  found  in  reconciling  Columbus's 
narrative  with  the  present  condition  of^the  island. 
At  about  the  middle  of  the  west  coast  the  locality 
at  present  known  as  Riding  Rocks  must  have  pre 
sented  then,  as  it  does  now,  an  inviting  anchorage. 
All  the  features  of  the  coast  as  described  by  Co 
lumbus  are  now  easily  identified.  The  sail  to  the 
N.  E.  E.,  which  under  any  other  hypothesis  pre 
sents  insurmountable  difficulties,  is  now  easily  ex 
plained.  Taking  a  boat  and  following  along  the  same 


9 2  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

course,  Cronau  entered  the  mouth  of  the  harbour, 
and  readily  distinguished  all  the  characteristics  de 
scribed  by  the  Admiral. 

If  the  data  given  by  Columbus  afford  no  very  defi 
nite  clew  to  the  spot  on  which  the  landing  took  place, 
his  account  of  what  he  saw,  especially  of  the  people, 
is  so  replete  with  interest  as  to  justify  a  quotation  of 
some  length.  After  describing  the  formalities  of  the 
taking  possession  of  the  island,  and  noting  that  the 
trees  seemed  very  green,  that  there  were  many  streams 
of  water  and  divers  sorts  of  fruits,  Columbus  gives  the 
following  graphic  account  of  the  natives  :  — 

"  As  I  saw  that  they  were  very  friendly  to  us,  and  per 
ceived  that  they  could  be  much  more  easily  converted  to 
our  holy  faith  by  gentle  means  than  by  force,  I  presented 
them  with  some  red  caps,  and  strings  of  beads  to  wear 
upon  the  neck,  and  many  other  trifles  of  small  value, 
wherewith  they  were  much  delighted,  and  became  won 
derfully  attached  to  us.  Afterwards  they  came  swimming 
to  the  boats,  bringing  parrots,  balls  of  cotton  thread,  jav 
elins,  and  many  other  things,  which  they  exchanged  for 
articles  we  gave  them,  such  as  glass  beads  and  hawk's 
bells,  which  trade  was  carried  on  with  the  utmost  good 
will.  But  they  seemed  on  the  whole  to  me  to  be  a  very 
poor  people.  They  all  go  completely  naked,  even  the 
women,  though  I  saw  but  one  girl.  All  whom  I  saw  were 
young,  not  above  thirty  years  of  age,  well  made,  with 
fine  shapes  and  faces ;  their  hair  short  and  coarse  like 
that  of  a  horse's  tail,  combed  toward  the  forehead,  except 
a  small  portion  which  they  suffer  to  hang  down  behind, 
and  never  cut.  Some  paint  themsdves  with  black,  which 
makes  them  appear  like  those  of  the  Canaries,  neither 
black  nor  white  ;  others  with  white,  others  with  red,  and 


THE  FIRST  VOYAGE.  93 

others  with  such  colours  as  they  can  find.  Some  paint 
the  face,  and  some  the  whole  body ;  others  only  the  eyes, 
and  others  the  nose.  Weapons  they  have  none,  nor  are 
they  acquainted  with  them  ;  for  I  showed  them  swords, 
which  they  grasped  by  the  blades,  and  cut  themselves 
through  ignorance.  They  have  no  iron,  their  javelins 
being  without  it,  and  nothing  more  than  sticks,  though 
some  have  fish-bones  or  other  things  at  the  ends.  They 
are  all  of  a  good  size  and  stature,  and  handsomely 
formed.  I  saw  some  with  scars  of  wounds  upon  their 
bodies,  and  demanded  by  signs  the  cause  of  them.  They 
answered  me  in  the  same  way,  that  there  came  people 
from  the  other  islands  in  the  neighbourhood  who  endeav 
oured  to  make  prisoners  of  them,  and  they  defended 
themselves.  I  thought  then,  and  still  believe,  that  these 
were  from  the  continent.  It  appears  to  me  that  the  peo 
ple  are  ingenious,  and  would  be  very  good  servants;  and 
I  am  of  the  opinion  that  they  would  readily  become  Chris 
tians,  as  they  appear  to  have  no  religion.  They  very 
quickly  learn  such  words  as  are  spoken  to  them.  If  it 
please  our  Lord,  I  intend  at  my  return  to  carry  home  six 
of  them  to  your  Highnesses,  that  they  may  learn  our  lan 
guage.  I  saw  no  beasts  in  the  island,  nor  any  sort  of 
animals  except  parrots." 

The  next  three  months  of  this  renowned  expedition 
were  spent  in  going  from  island  to  island,  in  making 
brief  visits  to  the  various  places  that  seemed  to  pro 
mise  any  interesting  or  important  revelation,  and  in 
seeking  for  objects  of  interest  and  value.  The  Admi 
ral  was  in  constant  hope  of  learning  something  that 
would  direct  him  to  Cipango.  In  all  the  islands  the 
people  were  found  to  speak  the  same  language  and  to 
have  the  same  general  characteristics.  After  visiting 


94  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

and  exploring  Long  Island  and  Saometo,  which  he 
respectively  named  Fernandina  and  Isabella,  he  at 
length,  on  the  2ist  day  of  October,  landed  on  the 
northern  coast  of  a  large  island  which  the  natives 
called  Colba.  This  was  the  modern  Cuba.  He  ex 
plored  the  picturesque  region  far  to  the  west,  and 
found  it  so  large  that  he  supposed  it  to  be  a  con 
tinent.  The  Indians,  however,  informed  him  that  it 
was  only  an  island.  As  he  perceived  neither  towns 
nor  villages  near  the  sea-coast,  but  only  scattered 
habitations,  the  people  of  which  fled  at  his  approach, 
he  sent  two  of  his  men  into  the  interior  to  learn 
whether  the  inhabitants  had  either  king  or  chief.  The 
men,  after  an  absence  of  three  days,  reported  that 
they  found  a  vast  number  of  settlements  built  of  wood 
and  straw,  with  "  innumerable  people."  Yet  they  were 
able  to  discover  no  indications  of  any  kind  of  govern 
ment.  To  the  island  the  name  Juana  was  given,  in 
honor  of  Don  Juan. 

Columbus  did  not  attempt  to  circumnavigate  the 
island.  After  coasting  far  to  the  west,  and  noting 
carefully  the  rivers  and  harbours,  he  resolved  to  retrace 
his  course.  .From  the  point  where  the  first  landing 
was  made,  he  sailed  a  hundred  and  seven  leagues 
toward  the  east,  when  he  came  to  a  cape  from  which 
he  reports  that  he  saw  another  island,  about  eighteen 
leagues  away.  This  was  the  island  now  known  as  San 
"Domingo,  or  Hayti,  to  which  Columbus  gave  the  name 
Hispaniola.  Sailing  thither,  and  skirting  along  its 
northern  coast,  the  explorers  found  it  more  beautiful 
even  than  any  of  the  others  they  had  seen.  The 


THE   FIRST  VOYAGE.  95 

journal  describes  the  harbours  as  far  more  safe  and 
commodious  than  any  to  be  found  in  Christian  coun 
tries;  the  rivers  were  large  and  noble,  the  land  was 
high,  with  beautiful  mountains  and  lofty  ridges  cov 
ered  with  a  thousand  varieties  of  beautiful  trees  that 
"  seemed  to  reach  to  heaven."  Most  gratifying  of  all, 
they  learned  from  the  Indians  that  there  were  "  large 
mines  of  fine  gold." 

It  was  here  that  Columbus  decided  to  establish  the 
first  permanent  settlement.  Through  the  careless 
ness  of  the  pilot,  however,  the  Admiral's  own  vessel 
struck  upon  a  rock  off  the  northwestern  coast  of  the 
island,  and,  finally,  in  spite  of  all  the  efforts  of  the 
crew,  had  gone  to  pieces.  The  assistance  rendered 
by  the  natives  in  rescuing  the  stores  of  the  wreck 
afforded  touching  evidence  of  their  friendly  feeling. 
The  timbers  of  the  ship  furnished  the  material  for  a 
structure  that  should  at  once  be  a  storehouse  and  a 
fort.  It  was  resolved  to  leave  provisions  for  a  year, 
together  with  seeds  and  implements  for  the  cultivation 
of  the  soil. 

As  to  the  number  of  the  crew  that  were  left  at  this 
new  settlement,  the  authorities  do  not  agree.  It  is 
probable,  however,  that  there  were  about  forty.  In 
the  narrative  of  Columbus,  the  words  are  these  :  "  I 
have  directed  that  there  shall  be  provided  a  store  of 
timber  for  the  construction  of  the  fort,  with  a  pro 
vision  of  bread  and  wine  for  more  than  a  year,  seed 
for  planting,  the  long  boat  of  the  ship,  a  calker,  a  car 
penter,  a  gunner,  a  cooper,  and  many  other  persons 
among  the  number  of  those  who  have  earnestly 


96  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

desired  to  serve  your  Highnesses  and  oblige  me  by 
remaining  here,  and  searching  for  the  gold  mine." 
As  the  wreck  and  the  consequent  determination  to 
build  a  fort  and  establish  a  colony  occurred  on  Christ 
mas  Day,  the  Admiral  named  the  new  settlement  "  La 
Navidad." 

The  people  of  the  island  manifested  a  most 
friendly  disposition.  The  abode  of  the  king  was 
about  a  league  and  a  half  distant  from  the  shoal 
where  the  wreck  had  taken  place.  Columbus  relates 
that  when  the  Spanish  messengers  informed  the  ca 
cique  of  the  misfortune,  he  "  shed  tears  and  de 
spatched  all  the  people  of  the  town  with  large  canoes 
to  unload  the  ship."  Again  he  says  that  the  king, 
"  with  his  brothers  and  relations,  came  to  the  shore 
and  took  every  care  that  the  goods  should  be  brought 
safely  to  land  and  carefully  preserved.  From  time 
to  time,  he  sent  his  relations  to  the  Admiral,  weeping 
and  consoling  him,  and  entreating  him  not  to  be 
afflicted  at  his  loss,  for  he  would  give  him  all  he  had." 
The  Admiral  still  further  observes  that  "  in  no  part  of 
Castile  would  more  strict  care  have  been  taken  of  the 
goods,  that  the  smallest  trifle  be  not  lost."  And 
again :  "  The  king  ordered  several  houses  to  be 
cleared  for  the  purpose  of  storing  the  goods."  On 
the  following  day,  Wednesday,  December  26,  the 
Admiral's  journal  contains  this  memorandum  :  "  At 
sunrise  the  king  of  the  country  visited  the  Admiral 
on  board  the  '  Nina,'  and  with  tears  in  his  eyes  en 
treated  him  not  to  indulge  in  grief,  for  he  would  give 
him  all  he  had ;  that  he  had  already  assigned  the 


THE  FIRST   VOYAGE.  97 

Spaniards  on  shore  two  large  houses,  and,  if  neces 
sary,  would  grant  others,  and  as  many  canoes  as  could 
be  used  in  bringing  the  goods  and  crew  to  land,  — 
which,  in  fact,  he  had  done  the  day  before,  without 
the  smallest  trifle  being  purloined."  In  forming  an 
opinion  of  a  policy  which  in  a  few  years  completely 
annihilated  the  inhabitants  of  these  islands,  this  esti 
mate  of  their  character  ought  not  to  be  forgotten. 

Before  leaving  this  settlement,  Columbus  took  the 
precaution  to  give  to  the  natives  an  exhibition  of  the 
force  of  fire-arms.  A  lombard  was  loaded  and  fired 
against  the  side  of  the  stranded  ship.  The  shot, 
much  to  the  amazement  of  the  natives,  passed  through 
the  hull  of  the  vessel,  and  struck  the  water  on  the 
farther  side.  He  also  gave  them  a  representation  of  a 
battle  fought  by  parties  of  the  crew,  and  conducted 
in  accordance  with  Christian  methods.  This  was 
done,  as  he  informs  us,  "  to  strike  terror  into  the  in 
habitants  and  make  them  friendly  to  the  Spaniards 
left  behind." 

Having  left  the  settlement  in  charge  of  Diego  de 
Arana,  and  three  others  as  subordinate  officers,  and 
having  conferred  upon  them  all  the  powers  he  had 
himself  received  from  the  king  and  queen,  Colum 
bus  prepared  to  enter  upon  his  homeward  voyage. 
The  commander  of  the  "  Pinta,"  who,  as  we  shall  pre 
sently  see,  had  entered  upon  an  exploring  expedition 
of  his  own,  had  now  rejoined  the  Admiral ;  and  on  the 
4th  of  January  the  two  little  ships  turned  their  rudders 
and  set  sail  for  home. 

In  the  study  of  the  journal  and  the  letters  of  Co 
7 


98  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

lumbus,  in  so  far  as  they  relate  to  the  first  voyage,  a 
number  of  impressions  are  strongly,  and,  it  should 
perhaps  be  said,  painfully,  stamped  upon  the  mind  of 
the  reader. 

While  the  desire  of  the  explorer  to  Christianize  the 
island  was  never  lost  sight  of,  he  was  prevented  from 
any  missionary  work,  not  only  by  the  fact  that  the 
expedition  was  unaccompanied  by  priests,  but  also  by 
the  nature  of  the  expedition  itself.  It  was  simply  a 
voyage  of  discovery ;  and  the  movements  from  one 
island  to  another  were  necessarily  too  rapid  to  admit 
of  anything  more  than  a  temporary  impression. 
Nothing  more,  therefore,  was  done  to  propagate 
Christianity  than  to  leave  here  and  there  upon  the 
islands  the  mysterious  emblems  of  the  new  faith. 
The  preaching  of  the  Gospel  was  reserved  for  future 
expeditions. 

But  the  ultimate  Christianizing  of  the  natives  was 
only  one  of  the  religious  motives  that  inspired  the 
expedition.  For  many  years  Columbus  had  enter 
tained  the  hope  that  gold  might  be  found  in  quantity 
sufficient  to  enable  the  Spanish  Government  to  rescue 
the  Holy  Sepulchre  from  the  possession  of  infidels. 
The  project  inspired  him  throughout  his  life.  From 
these,  as  well  as  from  personal  motives,  he  was  there 
fore  particularly  desirous  of  finding  gold.  Nothing  is 
more  painfully  obvious  in  his  journal  than  the  power  - 
of  this  pecuniary  motive.  The  quest  for  gold  lured 
him  on  from  one  island  to  another,  and  from  the  sea- 
coast  to  the  interior.  He  everywhere  makes  inquiries 
for  gold,  and  again  and  again  he  hears  reports  of 


THE   FIRST   VOYAGE.  99 


gold  mines ;  but  his  efforts  in  search  of  them  are 
always  unsuccessful.  However,  he  never  abandons 
hope.  The  journal  abounds  in  expression  of  opti 
mistic  expectation  that  gold  in  vast  quantities  will  yet 
be  found,  and  that  the  object  of  this  search  will  yet 
be  fully  realized.  But  the  gold-bearing  mines  every 
where  eluded  him,  and  indeed  the  natives  appear  to 
have  possessed  the  precious  metal  in  no  more  than 
very  trifling  quantities.  Still,  the  hopes  of  Columbus 
were  kept  sanguine  to  the  last.  It  was  only  ten  days 
before  the  expedition  sailed  for  home  that  he  entered 
upon  his  journal  the  expression  of  a  most  sanguine 
expectation.  Las  Casas  tells  us  that  in  his  journal  for 
December  26th,  Columbus  "adds  that  he  hopes  to 
find  on  his  return  from  Castile  a  ton  of  gold  collected 
by  them  in  trading  with  the  natives,  and  that  they 
will  have  succeeded  in  discovering  the  mine  and  the 
spices,  and  all  these  in  such  abundance  that  before 
three  years  the  king  and  queen  may  undertake  the 
recovery  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre.  '  For  I  have  before 
protested  to  your  Highnesses,'  continues  Columbus, 
1  that  the  profits  of  this  enterprise  shall  be  employed 
in  the  conquest  of  Jerusalem,  at  which  your  High 
nesses  smiled,  and  said  you  were  pleased,  and  had  the 
same  inclination.'  " 

In  one  of  the  letters  of  the  Admiral  announcing  the 
discovery,  known  as  the  Sanchez  Letter,  the  Admiral 
writes  in  still  more  sanguine  terms.  He  says  :  "  To 
sum  up  the  whole,  and  state  briefly  the  great  profits 
of  this  voyage,  I  am  able  to  promise  the  acquisition,  by 
a  trifling  assistance  from  their  Majesties,  of  any  quail- 


ioo  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

* 

tity  of  gold,  drugs,  cotton,  and  mastick,  which  last 
article  is  found  only  in  the  island  of  Scio  ;  also  any 
quantity  of  aloe,  and  as  many  slaves  for  the  service  of 
the  marine  as  their  Majesties  may  stand  in  need  of." 

In  the  letter  written  to  the  royal  treasurer,  Sant- 
angel,  Columbus  invariably  speaks  in  terms  of  similar 
confidence.  "  In  conclusion,  and  to  speak  only  of 
what  I  have  performed,"  says  he,  "  this  voyage,  so 
hastily  despatched,  will,  as  their  Highnesses  may  see, 
enable  any  desirable  quantity  of  gold  to  be  obtained, 
by  a  very  small  assistance  afforded  me  on  their  part." 
On  the  eve  of  sailing  for  Spain,  after  referring  to 
the  opposition  he  had  received  from  the  clergy  and 
others  about  the  court,  he  says :  "  These  last  have 
been  the  cause  that  the  royal  crown  of  your  High 
nesses  does  not  possess  this  day  a  hundred  millions 
of  reals  more  than  when  I  entered  your  service,  from 
which  time  it  will  be  seven  years  the  2Oth  day  of  this 
month  of  January." 

The  reader  will  hardly  fail  to  observe  that  these 
promises,  so  comprehensive  in  their  nature,  rested 
upon  a  very  slender  foundation.  Very  little  gold 
had  been  seen  by  the  explorers,  and  the  mines  had 
all  baffled  their  most  diligent  search.  The  ardent 
nature  of  Columbus  found  no  difficulty  in  converting 
hopes  into  confident  expectations.  How  painfully 
these  were  destined  to  be  disappointed,  we  shall  have 
occasion  hereafter  to  see. 

Another  matter  that  is  worthy  of  notice  is  the 
general  attitude  of  Columbus  toward  his  crew  and 
toward  the  islanders.  It  may  be  difficult  to  deter- 


THE  FIRST  VOYAGE.  ioi 

mine  how  far  it  was  Columbus's  fault;  but  the  fact 
is  unmistakable  that  there  are  no  indications  of  any 
attachment  to  him  by  any  of  the  members  of  his 
crew.  His  habit  of  deceiving  them  in  regard  to  the 
distance  passed  over,  and  in  regard  to  the  needle,  is 
likely  to  have  occasioned  general  distrust.  Certain 
it  is  that  Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon,  the  ardent  friend 
whose  support  at  Palos  mad'e  the  expedition  possible, 
deserted  him  without  warning  soon  after  the  fleet 
reached  the  first  land.  The  Admiral  himself  says, 
in  his  journal  of  November  2ist,  that  Pinzon,  "in 
cited  by  cupidity,"  sailed  away  with  the  "  Pinta  " 
"  without  leave  of  the  Admiral,"  and  that  "  by 
his  language  and  action  he  occasioned  many  other 
troubles." 

But  the  conduct  of  Pinzon  was  even  to  Columbus 
something  of  a  mystery ;  for  elsewhere  in  his  journal 
he  "  confesses  himself  unable  to  learn  the  cause  of 
the  unfavorable  disposition  which  this  man  had  mani 
fested  toward  him  throughout  the  voyage."  Else 
where  the  Admiral  says  Pinzon  "  was  actuated  solely 
by  haughtiness  and  cupidity  in  abandoning  him." 
Again  he  says  that  both  of  the  Pinzon  brothers  "  had 
a  party  attached  to  them,  the  whole  of  whom  had 
displayed  great  haughtiness  and  avarice,  disobeying 
his  commands,  regardless  of  the  honours  he  had  con 
ferred  upon  them." 

It  is  evident  that  Columbus  was  quite  devoid  of 
tact  in  the  management  of  men ;  for  the  bitterness 
that  at  a  later  period  manifested  itself  could  not 
otherwise  be  accounted  for. 


102  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS. 

Toward  the  natives  Columbus  seems  not  to  have 
been  actuated  by  any  motives  of  cruelty.  He  is  not  to 
be  harshly  judged,  moreover,  if  his  methods  were  simply 
those  of  the  fifteenth  rather  than  those  of  the  nine 
teenth  century.  But  human  nature  is  ever  essentially 
the  same,  and  it  is  therefore  easy  to  understand  the 
history  of  the  change  that  rapidly  came  over  the' 
spirit  of  the  natives.  Immediately  after  he  arrived  at 
the  islands,  Columbus  took  a  number  of  the  natives 
by  force,  and  kept  them  upon  the  ship.  On  the 
1 2th  day  of  November  he  writes:  " Yesterday  a 
canoe  came  to  the  ship  with  six  young  men ;  five 
of  them  came  on  board,  whom  I  ordered  to  be  de 
tained,  in  order  to  have  them  with  me.  I  then  sent 
ashore  to  one  of  the  houses  and  took  seven  women 
and  three  children ;  this  I  did  that  the  Indians  might 
tolerate  their  captivity  better  with  their  company." 
In  the  same  connection  the  Admiral  adds  :  "  These 
women  will  be  of  great  help  to  us  in  acquiring  their 
language,  which  is  the  same  throughout  all  these 
countries,  the  inhabitants  keeping  up  a  communica 
tion  among  the  islands  by  means  of  their  canoes." 
Again,  on  the  i4th  of  January,  only  two  days  before 
taking  final  leave,  Las  Casas  says  that,  "  wishing 
to  make  prisoners  of  some  Indians,  he  intended 
to  despatch  a  boat  in  the  night  to  visit  their  houses 
for  this  purpose ;  but  the  wind  blowing  strong  from 
the  east  and  northeast  occasioned  a  rough  sea,  which 
prevented  it."  On  the  following  day  he  says  :  "  There 
came  four  young  Indians  on  board  the  caravel,  where 
they  gave  so  good  an  account  to  the  Admiral  of  the 


THE  FIRST  VOYAGE.  103 


island  to  the  east  that  he  determined  to  t 
along  with  him." 

It  is  impossible  to  reflect  upon  this  habit  of  the 
Admiral  without  realizing  that,  however  friendly 
and  hospitable  the  natives  had  shown  themselves  at 
first,  the  impression  soon  made  upon  their  minds 
must  have  been  one  of  the  utmost  repugnance  and 
enmity.  To  indulge  in  any  other  supposition  would 
be  to  suppose  that  the  natives  were  not  human  be 
ings.  The  captives  seem  for  the  most  part  to  have 
been  kindly  treated,  and  they  may  not  have  mani 
fested  an  unconquerable  aversion  to  their  captivity ; 
but  this  unscrupulous  policy  of  kidnapping  the  na 
tives  whenever  opportunity  offered,  could  not  have 
been  otherwise  than  disastrous  to  all  friendly  rela 
tions.  It  is  impossible  to  conceive  that  the  islanders 
were  so  devoid  of  all  human  sensibilities  as  to  see 
with  indifference  their  husbands  and  wives,  their  sons 
and  daughters,  stolen  from  them  for  the  gratification 
of  the  lust  and  the  cupidity  of  their  visitors.  Nor, 
aside  from  all  moral  considerations,  on  the  part  of 
the  wisest  historian  of  the  time  was  there  any  failure 
to  understand  the  disastrous  consequences  of  such 
a  policy.  Las  Casas  was  fully  alive  to  all  the  politi 
cal  significance  of  this  course  of  action.  While  this 
great  moralist,  whose  nobility  of  character  raises  him 
far  above  all  the  other  public  men  of  his  time,  fully 
acquits  Columbus  of  any  wrong  intent,  he  does  not 
hesitate  to  indict  him  for  initiating  a  policy  that  was 
the  cause  of  all  the  crimes  and  disasters  that  ensued. 
The  right  to  kidnap  was  of  course  resented  by  the 


104  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS. 


The  consequence  was  a  war  of  extermination. 
The  sad  fate  of  the  colony  of  La  Navidad  can  never  be 
fully  understood,  for  reasons  which  in  due  time  we 
shall  see  ;  but  it  would  have  been  strange  indeed 
if  men,  endowed  with  even  the  feeblest  attributes 
of  human  nature,  had  not  been  desirous  of  exter 
minating  a  race  actuated  by  such  a  policy.  The 
words  of  Las  Casas  are  at  once  so  judicious  and  so 
just  that  they  ought  not  to  be  abridged.  After  speak 
ing  of  the  ardent  desire  of  Columbus  to  bring  as 
much  profit  as  possible  to  Ferdinand  and  Isabella, 
he  uses  these  admirable  words  :  — 

"For  this  cause  the  Admiral  thought  and  watched 
and  worked  for  nothing  more  than  to  contrive  that  there 
might  come  advantage  and  income  to  the  sovereigns. 
.  .  .  Ignoring  that  which  ought  not  to  be  ignored  con 
cerning  divine  and  natural  right  and  the  right  judgment 
of  reason,  he  introduced  and  commenced  to  establish 
such  principles  and  to  sow  such  seeds  that  there  origi 
nated  and  grew  from  them  such  a  deadly  and  pestilential 
herb,  and  one  which  produced  such  deep  roots,  that  it 
has  been  sufficient  to  destroy  and  devastate  all  these 
Indies,  without  human  power  sufficing  to  impede  or  in 
tercept  such  great  and  irreparable  evils." 

And  then,  with  a  charming  discrimination  and  charity, 
the  same  benignant  author   continues,  — 

"  I  do  not  doubt  that  if  the  Admiral  had  believed  there 
would  succeed  such  pernicious  detriment  as  did  succeed, 
and  had  known  as  much  of  the  primary  and  secondary 
conclusions  of  natural  and  divine  right  as  he  knew  of 
cosmography  and  other  human  doctrines,  he  would  never 


THE  FIRST   VOYAGE.  105 

have  dared  to  introduce  or  establish  a  thing  whiSBf  as 
to  produce  such  calamitous  evils;  for  no  one  can  say 
that  he  was  not  a  good  and  Christian  man." 

The  course  taken  by  Columbus  does  not  show  that 
he  was  exceptionally  immoral ;  for  morality  is  at  least 
so  conventional  as  to  be  entitled  to  be  judged  in  the 
light  of  the  age  under  consideration.  But  his  course 
does  show  that  he  was  not  above  the  moral  debase 
ment  of  the  age  in  which  he  lived,  on  the  one  hand, 
and,  on  the  other,  that  he  was  destitute,  not  only  of 
the  characteristics  of  what  we  call  statesmanship,  but 
also  of  ordinary  tact  and  good  judgment.  Nothing 
could  have  been  easier  than  by  a  judicious  use  of 
rewards  and  inducements  to  persuade  a  sufficient 
number  of  the  natives  to  accompany  the  fleet  in  a 
most  friendly  spirit.  Either  this  was  not  perceived, 
or  it  was  not  desired.  In  either  case,  the  whole 
history  is  a  sad  commentary  on  the  management  of 
the  Admiral. 

In  spite  of  the  popular  superstition,  Columbus 
did  not  hesitate  to  set  sail  for  home  on  Friday. 
It  had  been  on  Friday  that  he  left  Palos ;  on  Fri 
day  that  he  left  the  Canaries ;  and  now  on  Friday, 
the  4th  of  January,  he  took  leave  of  the  colony  at  La 
Navidad  and  ordered  the  pilots  to  set  the  rudder  for 
home.  On  the  9th  day  of  January  they  proceeded 
thirty-six  leagues,  as  far  as  Punta  Roxa,  or  Red  Point, 
where  the  Admiral  records  that  they  found  tortoises 
as  big  as  bucklers,  and  where  also  he  saw  three  mer 
maids  that  raised  themselves  far  above  the  water. 
Of  the  latter  the  Admiral  has  the  frankness  to  say 


I06_  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS, 


trJMlltho 


mgh  they  had  something  like  a  human  face, 
they  were  not  so  handsome  as  they  are  painted.  Two 
days  later  Columbus  came  to  a  mountain  covered 
with  snow,  which  he  named  Monte  de  Plata ;  and,  a 
little  beyond,  after  passing  a  succession  of  capes,  which 
were  duly  named,  he  came  to  a  vast  bay  in  which  he 
determined  to  remain  to  observe  the  conjunction 
that  was  to  be  seen  on  the  iyth.  Here  for  the 
first  time  he  found  men  with  bows  and  arrows, 
and  not  only  bought  a  bow  and  some  arrows,  but 
learned  from  one  of  the  natives  that  the  Caribs 
were  to  the  eastward,  and  that  gold  was  to  be 
found  on  an  island  not  far  away,  which  he  called 
the  island  of  St.  John.  Bernaldez  says  that  "  in  the 
islands  of  these  Caribsr  as  well  as  in  the  neighbour 
ing  ones,  there  is  gold  in  incalculable  quantity,  cotton 
in  vast  abundance,  and  especially  spices,  such  as 
pepper,  which  is  four  times  as  strong  and  pungent 
as  the  pepper  that  we  use  in  Spain." 

It  soon  became  evident  that  these  people  were 
of  a  less  pacific  nature  than  the  other  islanders  whom 
Columbus  had  met.  A  band  of  fifty-five  of  the  na 
tives,  armed  with  bows  and  arrows  and  swords  oi 
hard  wood,  as  well  as  heavy  spears,  attempted  to  seize 
seven  of  the  Spaniards.  An  altercation  ensued.  Two 
of  the  Indians  were  wounded,  whereupon  they  all 
fled,  leaving  their  arms  behind  them.  The  incident 
is  worthy  of  note  from  the  fact  that  it  was  the  only 
time  during  this  expedition  that  the  Spaniards  and 
the  natives  came  to  blows.  The  breach  was  easily 
healed,  however,  for  on  the  following  day  the 


THE  FIRST  VOYAGE.  107 

Indians  returned  as  though  nothing  had  happened, 
and  a  complete  reconciliation  took  place.  The  Ad 
miral  gave  the  native  king  a  red  cap,  and  the  next 
day  "  the  king  sent  his  gold  crown  and  provisions." 

On  the  1 5th,  Columbus  entered  the  port  of  a  little 
island  where  there  were  good  salt  pits.  The  soil,  the 
woods,  and  the  plains  convinced  him  that  at  last  he 
had  come  to  the  island  of  Cipango.  Perhaps  he  was 
confirmed  in  this  impression  by  the  current  reports 
that  the  gold  mines  of  Cibao  were  not  far  distant. 
On  the  next  day  the  Spaniards  discovered  the  caravel 
"  Pinta  "  sailing  toward  them.  Twenty  days  before, 
Pinzon,  apparently  moved  by  a  resistless  ambition, 
had  gone  off  on  an  independent  cruise.  Columbus 
now  received  the  excuse  of  the  captain,  —  that  he 
acted  under  necessity ;  and  though  he  thought  it 
by  no  means  satisfactory,  he  was  willing  to  condone 
the  offence. 

The  Admiral  now  decided  to  sail  directly  for  Spain  ; 
and  accordingly  the  Spaniards  prepared  at  once  to 
leave  the  bay,  which  they  called  De  las  Flechas,  or 
the  Bay  of  Arrows.  When  they  had  advanced  about 
sixteen  leagues,  the  Indians  pointed  to  the  island 
of  St.  John,  which,  they  said,  was  the  home  of  the 
Caribs,  or  cannibals.  Columbus  did  not  think  it 
wise,  however,  to  delay  for  further  investigation  or 
inquiry.  Sails  were  set,  and  the  prows  of  the  two 
little  ships  were  turned  toward  home.  It  was  on 
the  1 6th  of  January  that  the  last  of  the  Bahamas 
passed  to  the  rearward  out  of  sight. 

During  several  days  the  navigators  had  no  adverse 


108  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

fortune.  The  killing  of  a  tunny-fish  and  a  shark  af 
forded  a  welcome  addition  to  their  larder,  as  they  were 
now  reduced  to  bread  and  wine.  The  "Pinta"  soon 
proved  to  be  in  poor  condition  for  the  voyage,  as 
her  mizzen-mast  was  out  of  order  and  could  carry 
but  little  sail.  The  sea  was  calm  and  the  course  was 
east  by  northeast  until  February  4,  when  it  was 
changed  to  east.  On  the  loth  the  pilots  and  the 
captains  took  observations  to  determine  their  bear 
ings,  but  with  very  unsatisfactory  results.  The  im 
perfect  condition  of  the  science  of  navigation  waa 
well  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  their  reckonings 
differed  by  a  hundred  and  fifty  leagues. 

The  calm  monotony  of  the  voyage  was  broken  on 
the  1 3th.  All  night  they  laboured  with  a  high  wind 
and  furious  sea.  On  the  next  day  the  storm  increased, 
"  the  waves  crossing  and  dashing  against  one  another, 
so  that  the  vessel  was  overwhelmed."  In  the  follow 
ing  night  the  two  little  ships  made  signals  by  lights 
as  long  as  one  could  see  the  other.  At  sunrise  the 
wind  increased,  and  the  sea  became  more  and  more 
terrible.  The  "  Pinta  "  was  nowhere  to  be  seen,  and 
the  Admiral  thought  her  lost.  The  journal  records 
that  he  ordered  lots  to  be  cast  for  one  of  them  to  go 
on  a  pilgrimage  to  St.  Mary  of  Guadaloupe,  and 
carry  a  wax  taper  of  five  pounds  weight,  and  that  he 
caused  them  all  to  take  oath  that  the  one  on  whom 
the  lot  fell  should  make  the  pilgrimage.  For  this 
purpose  as  many  peas  were  put  into  a  hat  as  there 
were  persons  on  board,  one  of  the  peas  being  marked 
with  a  cross.  The  first  person  to  put  his  hand  in  the 


THE  FIRST  VOYAGE.  109 

hat  was  the  Admiral,  and  he  drew  the  crossed  pea. 
Two  other  lots  were  taken,  one  of  these  also  falling 
to  Columbus.  They  then  made  a  vow  to  go  in  pro 
cession  in  penitential  garments  to  the  first  church 
dedicated  to  Our  Lady  which  they  might  meet  with 
on  arriving  at  land,  and  there  pay  their  devotions. 

But  notwithstanding  these  vows  the  danger  con 
tinued  to  increase.  Lack  of  ballast  was  partially 
supplied  by  filling  with  sea-water  such  casks  as  they 
could  make  available.  It  is  easy  to  conjecture  what 
the  anxiety  of  the  Admiral  must  have  been.  One 
of  the  vessels  had  been  lost  in  the  Indies ;  the 
"Pinta"  had  also  probably  perished;  and  now  the 
fury  of  the  hurricane  was  such  as  to  make  it  extremely 
improbable  that  even  the  "  Nina  "  would  survive.  In 
such  a  calamitous  event  no  word  of  the  discovery 
would  ever  reach  Europe,  and  all  the  worst  conjec 
tures  of  the  opponents  of  the  expedition  would  seem 
to  have  been  fulfilled. 

As  a  possible  means  of  preventing  so  disastrous  a 
result,  Columbus  wrote  upon  parchment  an  account 
of  the  voyage  and  of  the  discoveries  he  had  made, 
and  after  rolling  it  up  in  waxed  cloth,  well  tied, 
and  putting  it  into  a  large  wooden  cask,  he  threw  it 
into  the  sea.  Another  he  placed  upon  the  deck  of 
the  vessel,  in  order  that  in  case  all  upon  the  vessel 
should  be  lost,  there  might  be  a  chance  that  the 
results  of  the  voyage  might  still  be  made  known. 

At  sunrise  of  the  i5th,  land  was  discovered,  which 
some  thought  to  be  Madeira,  and  others  the  rock 
of  Cintra,  near  Lisbon.  According  to  the  Admiral's 


no  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS, 

reckoning,  however,  they  were  nearer  the  Azores. 
But  the  power  of  the  storm  was  still  so  great  that 
it  was  not  until  the  morning  of  the  i8th  that  they 
were  able  to  come  to  an  anchorage,  and  to  find 
that  they  were  in  the  group  of  the  Azores,  at  the 
island  of  St.  Mary. 

Columbus  now  sent  a  half  of  the  crew  on  shore  to 
fulfil  their  vows,  intending  on  their  return  to  go  him 
self  with  the  other  half,  for  the  same  purpose.  But 
the  first  company  of  pilgrims  were  set  upon  by  the 
Portuguese  and  taken  prisoners.  An  attempt,  though 
unsuccessful,  was  also  made  to  capture  the  Admiral. 
A  severe  altercation  occurred,  in  which  the  captain  of 
the  island  ordered  the  Admiral  on  shore,  and  the 
Admiral  in  turn  displayed  his  commission  and  threat 
ened  the  island  with  devastation.  It  was  not  until 
the  22d  that  the  parleyings  came  to  an  end  and  the 
captured  portion  of  the  crew  was  restored. 

Though  for  a  few  days  the  weather  was  propitious, 
on  the  2  yth  another  storm  came  on,  which  continued 
for  several  days.  On  the  3d  day  of  March  a  violent 
squall  struck  the  vessel  and  split  all  the  sails.  They 
were  again  in  such  imminent  danger  that  another 
pilgrimage  was  promised,  and  the  crew  all  made  a 
vow  to  fast  on  bread  and  water  on  the  first  Saturday 
after  their  landing.  Having  lost  its  sails,  the  vessel 
was  now  driven  under  bare  poles  before  the  wind. 
Through  the  night  Columbus  says  that  the  "  Nina  " 
was  kept  afloat  "with  infinite  labor  and  apprehen 
sion."  But  at  the  dawn  of  the  4th  of  March  the 
Spaniards  found  they  were  off  the  rock  of  Cintra. 


THE  FIRST  VOYAGE.  ill 

Though  from  what  had  occurred,  the  Admiral  enter-' 
tained  a  strong  distrust  of  the  Portuguese  Government, 
there  was  no  alternative  but  to  run  into  the  port  for 
shelter. 

In  view  of  his  experience  during  the  returning  voy 
age,  Columbus  can  hardly  have  been  surprised  to 
learn  from  some  of  the  oldest  mariners  of  the  place 
that  so  tempestuous  a  winter  had  never  been  known. 
He  received  numerous  congratulations  on  what  was 
regarded  as  a  miraculous  preservation. 

Immediately  on  reaching  the  port  the  Admiral  made 
formal  announcement  of  his  discoveries.  A  courier 
was  despatched  to  the  king  and  queen  of  Spain  with 
the  tidings.  To  the  king  of  Portugal  a  letter  was 
also  sent  requesting  permission  and  authority  to  land 
at  Lisbon,  as  a  report  that  his  vessel  was  laden  with 
treasure  had  spread  abroad  and  gave  him  a  feeling  of 
insecurity  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tagus,  where  he  was 
surrounded  by  needy  and  unscrupulous  adventurers. 
Accompanying  this  request  was  the  assurance  that  the 
vessel  had  not  visited  any  of  the  Portuguese  colonies, 
but  had  come  from  Cipango  and  India,  which  he  had 
discovered  in  the  course  of  his  westward  voyage. 

For  some  days  after  his  arrival  Columbus  seemed 
to  be  in  some  danger.  For  nearly  a  century  Lisbon 
had  derived  its  highest  glory  from  maritime  discovery, 
and  it  was  therefore  not  singular  that  the  advent  of  a 
vessel  with  such  tidings  should  have  filled  the  people 
with  wonder  and  surprise.  From  morning  till  night 
the  little  ship  was  thronged  with  visitors  piqued  with 
curiosity.  On  the  day  after  his  arrival,  the  captain  of 


H2  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

a  large  Portuguese  man-of-war  summoned  Columbus 
on  board  his  ship  to  give  an  account  of  himself  and 
his  voyage.  The  explorer  replied  that  he  held  a  com 
mission  as  admiral  from  the  sovereigns  of  Spain,  and, 
as  such,  he  must  refuse  to  leave  his  vessel,  or  to  send 
any  one  in  his  place.  This  attitude  of  lofty  dignity 
was  successful.  The  Portuguese  commander  visited 
the  caravel  with  sound  of  drums  and  trumpets,  and 
made  the  most  generous  offers  of  protection  and 
service. 

On  the  8th  of  March  Columbus  received  an  invita 
tion  to  visit  the  king  at  Valparaiso.  Complying  with 
this  invitation,  he  received  a  friendly  greeting.  King 
John  did  not  scruple  to  say  that  in  his  opinion, 
according  to  the  articles  stipulated  with  the  Spanish 
monarchs,  the  new  discovery  belonged  to  him  rather 
than  to  Castile. 

This  claim  was  not  without  some  show  of  reason. 
In  the  time  of  the  Crusades  the  doctrine  had  been 
promulgated  and  generally  accepted  that  Christian 
princes  had  a  right  to  invade  and  seize  upon  the  ter 
ritories  of  infidels  under  the  plea  of  defeating  the 
enemies  of  Christ  and  of  extending  the  sway  of  the 
Church.  What  particular  Christian  monarch  was  to 
have  the  right  to  a  given  territory  was  to  be  deter 
mined  by  papal  decision.  Under  this  authority  Pope 
Martin  V.  conceded  to  the  Crown  of  Portugal  all  the 
lands  that  might  be  discovered  between  Cape  Bojador 
and  the  Indies.  This  concession  was  formally  con 
sented  lo  and  ratified  by  Spain  and  Portugal  in  the 
treaty  of  1479.  Though  it  was  evident  that  the  in- 


THE  FIRST  VOYAGE.  113 

tent  of  the  treaty  only  related  to  such  lands  as  might 
be  discovered  in  a  passage  to  the  Indies  by  an  eas 
terly  course,  there  was  no  verbal  limitation,  and 
therefore  it  can  hardly  be  regarded  as  singular  that 
the  Portuguese  monarch  should  now  claim  that  it 
included  within  its  provisions  any  lands  that  might  be 
discovered  in  even  a  westerly  voyage. 

But  it  is  evident  that  Columbus  regarded  this  ques 
tion  as  one  to  be  determined  by  the  monarchs  them 
selves  rather  than  by  any  discussion  between  his 
royal  host  and  himself.  Accordingly,  he  was  content 
merely  to  observe  that  he  had  not  been  aware  of  the 
agreement  to  which  allusion  had  been  made,  and 
that  when  setting  out  on  his  voyage,  he  had  received 
explicit  instructions  not  to  interfere  with  any  of  the 
Portuguese  settlements. 

Perhaps  the  only  importance  to  be  attached  to  this 
visit  to  the  Portuguese  port  is  the  fact  that  by  it  Co 
lumbus  was  made  fully  aware  that  the  king  of  Portu 
gal  intended  to  contest  the  rights  of  Spain  to  the 
newly  discovered  lands.  The  claim  of  the  king  was 
eagerly  taken  up  and  seconded  by  his  courtiers,  some 
of  whom  were  the  very  men  who,  ten  years  before, 
had  advised  against  giving  Columbus  the  assistance 
he  needed,  and  consequently  were  piqued  at  the  suc 
cess  that  had  finally  crowned  his  efforts.  They  assured 
the  monarch  that  the  new  lands,  even  if  they  were 
not  the  identical  ones  that  had  been  reached  by  the 
Portuguese  navigators  who  had  sailed  toward  the  east, 
were  at  least  so  near  them  as  to  make  an  independent 
title  invalid.  From  one  absurdity  they  went  on  to 

8 


114  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

another,  until  they  reached  the  conclusion  that  the 
claims  of  the  discoverer  were  absurd  and  preposter 
ous,  and  that  they  were  entitled  to  no  consideration 
whatever.  Spanish  and  Portuguese  historians  agree 
that  the  king's  advisers  even  went  so  far  as  to  propose 
the  assassination  of  the  Admiral,  in  order  to  prevent 
any  future  complications. 

It  is  to  the  credit  of  the  monarch  that,  notwith 
standing  these  ignoble  proposals  of  his  ministers,  he 
treated  Columbus  with  distinguished  personal  consid 
eration.  The  hospitality  extended  was  scarcely  less 
than  princely,  and  on  the  departure  of  the  navigator 
the  king  gave  him  a  royal  escort  that  was  com 
manded  to  show  him  every  kindness.  On  his  way 
back  to  Lisbon  the  Admiral  accepted  an  invitation  to 
visit  the  queen  at  the  monastery  of  Villa  Franca, 
where  he  regaled  her  with  a  glowing  and  circum 
stantial  account  of  the  expedition  and  the  islands  he 
had  discovered. 

It  must  not  be  supposed,  however,  that  the  king 
was  ingenuous.  On  the  contrary,  he  listened  with 
favour  to  some  of  the  more  subtle  and  sinister  sugges 
tions  of  his  courtiers.  The  proposal  that  met  with 
most  countenance  was  the  advice  that  they  should 
fit  out  a  strong  fleet  at  once,  and  despatch  it  under 
command  of  one  of  the  foremost  captains  of  the 
Portuguese  service,  to  take  possession  of  the  newly 
discovered  country  before  a  second  Spanish  expedi 
tion  could  reach  its  destination. 

After  thus  passing  nine  days  within  the  domain  of 
Portugal,  Columbus  hoisted  anchor  on  the  i3th  of 


THE  FSXST  VOYAGE.  115 

March,  and  reached  the  port  of  Palos  on  Friday,  the 
1 5th,  where  he  was  received  with  great  demonstra 
tions  of  joy. 

By  the  people  of  this  little  Spanish  port  the  expe 
dition  had  been  regarded  as  chimerical  and  desperate. 
But  the  crews  had  formed  no  very  small  portion  of 
the  able-bodied  men  of  the  town.  Many,  therefore, 
had  given  up  their  friends  as  abandoned  to  the 
mysterious  horrors  with  which  credulity  had  always 
peopled  the  unknown  seas.  But  now,  many  of  their 
friends  had  not  only  returned,  but  they  brought  back 
accounts  of  the  discovery  of  a  new  world.  The 
bells  were  rung,  the  shops  were  closed,  business  of 
all  kinds  was  suspended,  a  solemn  procession  was 
formed,  and  wherever  Columbus  was  observed,  he 
was  nailed  with  acclamations. 

The  court  was  at  Barcelona.  The  Admiral  at  once 
despatched  a  letter  to  the  king  and  queen,  announ 
cing  his  arrival,  and  informing  them  that  he  would 
await  their  orders  at  Seville.  Before  he  departed 
from  Palos,  however,  an  event  of  great  interest  oc 
curred.  On  the  very  evening  of  the  arrival  of  Colum 
bus,  and  while  the  bells  of  triumph  were  still  ringing, 
the  "  Pinta,"  commanded  by  Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon, 
entered  the  river.  The  two  little  vessels  had  parted 
company  in  the  terrible  storm  off  the  Azores;  and 
each,  supposing  that  the  other  was  lost,  by  a  singular 
coincidence  now,  on  the  same  day,  reached  the  port 
from  which  they  had  together  set  out  more  than  six 
months  before^ 

The  connection  of  Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon  with  the 


n6  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

first  voyage  of  Columbus  is  a  subject  which  has 
received  more  or  less  of  the  attention  of  every  his 
torian  of  that  remarkable  event.  Unfortunately,  the 
ending  of  his  career  was  one  that  threw  an  indelible 
stain  upon  the  credit  of  his  name.  The  conclud 
ing  facts  of  his  life  may  be  briefly  stated.  After 
parting  from  the  "  Nina,"  the  "  Pinta,"  driven  by 
the  storm  far  to  the  north,  and  finding  its  way  with 
infinite  difficulty  into  the  Bay  of  Biscay,  took  ref 
uge  in  the  port  of  Bayonne.  Pinzon  seems  to 
have  deemed  it  safe  to  presume  that  the  "  Nina  " 
and  all  its  crew  had  been  lost.  Accordingly,  he 
wrote  to  the  monarchs  of  Spain,  announcing  the 
discoveries  he  had  made,  and  asking  permission  to 
wait  upon  the  court  and  give  the  particulars  in  person. 
As  soon  as  the  storm  abated,  he  set  out  for  the  port 
of  Palos,  evidently  anticipating  a  triumphant  entry; 
but  when,  on  nearing  the  harbour,  he  beheld  the  ship 
of  the  Admiral,  and  heard  the  joyful  acclamations 
with  which  Columbus  had  been  received,  his  heart 
must  have  failed  him.  It  is  said  that  he  feared  to  go 
ashore,  lest  Columbus  should  put  him  under  arrest 
for  having  deserted  him  on  the  coast  of  Cuba,  —  at 
least  he  landed  privately,  and  kept  out  of  sight  till 
the  Admiral  had  taken  his  departure  for  the  Spanish 
court.  Deeply  dejected,  and  broken  in  health,  he 
betook  himself  to  his  home,  to  await  the  answer  to 
the  letter  he  had  written  to  the  king  and  queen.  At 
length  the  answer  came.  It  was  reproachful  in  tone, 
and  even  forbade  the  appearance  of  Pinzon  at  court. 
This  seemed  to  complete  the  humiliation  of  the  old 


THE  FIRST  VOYAGE.  117 

sailor,  for  he  sank  rapidly  into  a  species  of  despair, 
and  a  few  days  later  died,  the  victim  of  chagrin. 

Nevertheless  the  services  that  Pinzon  rendered  to 
the  expedition  ought  not  to  go  unrecognized.  As  we 
have  already  seen,  his  generosity  had  enabled  Colum 
bus  to  offer  to  defray  one  eighth  of  the  expense  of 
the  expedition.  More  important  still,  at  the  moment 
when  it  seemed  impossible  to  recruit,  or  even  con 
script,  a  crew,  it  was  no  other  than  Martin  Alonzo 
Pinzon  that  came  forward  as  the  earnest  and  success 
ful  champion  of  the  expedition.  He  had  been  a 
navigator  of  distinction,  and  his  wealth,  his  social 
rank,  and  his  experience  gave  him  an  influence  that 
withstood  the  tide  of  prejudice  and  made  the  secur 
ing  of  a  crew  possible.  He  not  only  offered  to  give 
the  enterprise  his  moral  and  pecuniary  support,  but 
he  gave  proof  of  the  integrity  of  his  declarations  by 
offering  to  command  one  of  the  vessels  in  person, 
while  his  brother  was  to  command  another.  It  can 
not  be  denied  that  these  were  great  and  important 
services,  without  which  it  would  have  been  far  more 
difficult,  if  not,  indeed,  impossible,  to  put  the  expedi 
tion  into  sailing  condition.  But  the  extent  of  these 
services  seems  to  have  poisoned  his  mind  in  regard  to 
his  relations  to  his  chief.  During  the  voyage  there 
were  symptoms  of  an  insubordinate  spirit.  The  com 
mission  under  which  the  fleet  sailed  gave  to  Colum 
bus  unquestionable  authority ;  but  Pinzon  chafed 
under  his  restraints,  and  no  sooner  had  they  reached 
the  coast  of  Cuba  than  he  deserted  his  commander 
and  undertook  a  voyage  of  discovery  of  his  own.  The 


Ii8  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

sequel  unfortunately  showed  that  in  spirit  he  was  not 
above  ignoring  entirely  the  work  of  Columbus,  and 
arrogating  to  himself  the  credit  of  the  discovery. 

Columbus,  on  the  other  hand,  received  in  answer 
to  his  letter  of  announcement  a  most  gracious  reply 
from  the  Spanish  sovereigns.  That  he  was  held  in 
high  favour,  was  shown  by  the  simple  form  of  the  letter, 
which  addressed  him  as  "  Don  Christopher  Columbus, 
our  Admiral  of  the  Ocean  Sea,  and  Viceroy  and  Gov 
ernor  of  the  Islands  discovered  in  the  Indies."  The 
letter  expressed  the  great  satisfaction  of  the  monarchs 
with  his  achievement,  and  requested  him  not  only  to 
repair  immediately  to  court,  but  also  to  inform  them 
by  return  of  courier  what  was  to  be  done  on  their  part 
to  prepare  the  way  immediately  for  a  second  expedi 
tion.  Columbus  lost  no  time  in  complying  with  their 
commands.  He  sent  a  memorandum  of  the  ships, 
munitions,  and  men  needed,  and  taking  the  six  In 
dians  and  various  curiosities  he  had  brought  with  him, 
set  out  for  an  audience  at  Barcelona. 

The  fame  of  the  discovery  had  been  noised  abroad, 
and  even  grossly  exaggerated  reports  of  the  wonder 
ful  curiosities  brought  back  had  obtained  currency. 
The  people,  therefore,  everywhere  thronged  into  the 
streets  to  get  sight  of  Columbus  and  of  his  Indians, 
as  they  made  the  long  journey  from  Palos  to  the 
court. 

On  reaching  Barcelona  the  Admiral  found  that  every 
preparation  had  been  made  to  receive  him  with  the 
most  imposing  ceremonials.  It  has  been  customary 
to  compare  his  entrance  into  the  city  with  a  Roman 


THE   FIRST   VOYAGE.  119 

triumph.  Certainly  there  was  not  a  little  to  justify 
such  a  comparison.  The  Indians,  painted  and  deco 
rated  in  savage  fashion,  birds  and  animals  of  unknown 
species,  rare  plants  supposed  to  possess  great  healing 
qualities,  Indian  coronets,  bracelets,  and  other  deco 
rations  of  gold, — all  these  were  paraded  and  dis 
played  in  order  to  convey  an  idea  of  the  importance 
and  the  wealth  of  the  newly  discovered  country.  At 
the  rear  of  the  train,  Columbus,  on  horseback,  was 
escorted  by  a  brilliant  cavalcade  of  Spanish  hidalgos. 

The  sovereigns  had  determined  to  receive  him  with 
a  stately  ceremony  worthy  of  his  discovery.  Upon  a 
throne  specially  set  up  for  the  purpose  the  king  and 
queen,  with  Prince  Juan  at  their  side,  and  surrounded 
with  noble  lords  and  ladies,  awaited  his  coming  into 
their  presence.  Columbus,  also  surrounded  with  a 
brilliant  retinue,  entered  the  hall  and  approached  the 
throne.  Las  Casas,  who  was  present,  tells  us  that  the 
Admiral  was  stately  and  commanding  in  person,  and 
that  the  modest  smile  that  played  upon  his  counte 
nance  showed  that  "  he  enjoyed  the  state  and  glory 
in  which  he  came."  Though  he  was  probably  only 
forty-eight  years  of  age,  his  prematurely  gray  hairs 
had  already  given  him  a  venerable  appearance.  The 
sovereigns  had  made  it  evident  that  they  desired  to 
bestow  upon  him  the  admiration  and  gratitude  of  the 
nation.  As  he  approached,  they  arose  and  saluted 
him  as  if  receiving  a  person  of  the  highest  rank. 
When  he  was  about  to  kneel,  for  the  purpose  of  kiss 
ing  the  hands  of  the  sovereigns,  in  accordance  with  the 
conventional  ceremonies  of  that  proud  court,  they 


120  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

ordered  him  in  the  most  gracious  manner  to  arise, 
and  then  to  seat  himself  in  their  presence. 

At  their  bidding,  Columbus  then  proceeded  to  give 
an  account  of  his  voyage  and  of  his  discoveries.  The 
authorities  agree  that  this  was  done  in  a  sedate  and 
discreet  manner,  though  it  is  difficult  to  avoid  the 
conviction  that  the  Admiral  promised  for  the  future  far 
more  than  was  warranted  by  anything  that  had  as 
yet  been  discovered.  But  the  thought  was  never 
absent  from  his  mind  that  the  islands  were  just  off  the 
coast  of  Asia,  and  that  they  were  not  far  from  all  the 
wealth  of  Cipango  and  Cathay.  With  this  belief  he 
did  not  hesitate  to  assure  their  Majesties  that  what 
he  had  already  discovered  was  but  a  harbinger  of  in 
calculable  wealth,  and  that  by  further  explorations 
whole  nations  and  peoples  would  be  brought  to  the 
true  faith. 

The  contemporaneous  historians  tell  us  that  at  the 
conclusion  of  this  account  the  sovereigns  were  so 
affected  that  their  eyes  filled  with  tears  of  gratitude, 
and  that  they  fell  upon  their  knees  and  poured  forth 
their  thanks  to  God  for  the  great  blessing  of  this 
discovery.  The  Te  Deum  was  sung  by  the  choir  of 
the  chapel,  and  Las  Casas  remarks  that  it  seemed  as 
if  "  in  that  hour  they  communicated  with  celestial 
delights." 

It  is  not  strange  that  in  this  mood  the  monarchs 
were  ready,  not  only  to  continue,  but  even  to  extend 
the  authority  already  bestowed  upon  Columbus.  Ac 
cordingly,  they  confirmed  the  grants  made  at  Santa 
Fe  the  year  before,  they  granted  him  the  royal 


THE   FIRST   VOYAGE.  121 

arms  of  Castile  and  Leon,  and  for  his  sake  they  con 
ferred  special  honours  on  his  brothers  Bartholomew 
and  Diego.  Columbus  in  turn  committed  himself  to 
great  things  in  the  future.  His  ordinary  religious 
fervour  seems  to  have  been  greatly  reinforced  by  the 
ceremonies  of  the  day.  In  his  desire  to  promote  the 
conquest  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  he  now  went  so  far  as 
to  make  a  solemn  vow  that  for  this  purpose  he  would 
furnish  within  seven  years  an  army  consisting  of  four 
thousand  horse  and  fifty  thousand  foot,  and  that  he 
would  also  provide  a  similar  force  within  the  next  five 
years  that  should  follow. 

It  was  unquestionably  a  weakness  of  Columbus  that 
he  was  always  prone  to  promise  more  than  he  could 
fulfil.  This  is  perhaps  the  besetting  fault  of  very 
fervid  natures.  But  the  consequences  are  often  far 
reaching.  Columbus  thus  prepared  the  way,  or  at 
least  gave  the  opportunity,  for  virulent  criticism  and 
even  hostility.  Not  a  few  of  the  old  nobility  had  been 
piqued  by  the  honours  conferred  upon  a  parvenu  and 
a  foreigner.  All  such  were  ready  to  organize  an 
attack  if  the  new  favourite  should  show  any  weakness 
or  fail  to  fulfil  any  of  his  promises.  This  important 
element  in  the  situation  should  prepare  us  to  under 
stand  much  of  what  is  to  follow. 

In  all  affairs  of  international  interest  in  the  fifteenth 
century  the  Roman  pontiff  played  a  conspicuous  part. 
There  were  unusual  reasons  why  a  formal  announce 
ment  to  the  Pope  of  the  success  of  Columbus  should 
be  made  without  delay.  Such  announcement  was 
prompted,  not  only  by  the  importance  of  the  discov- 


122  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

ery,  but  also  by  the  religious  motive  that  formed  so 
large  an  element  in  the  purpose  of  the  discoverer. 
But  there  was  an  additional  reason.  As  we  have 
already  seen,  the  king  of  Portugal  had  hinted  that 
the  newly  discovered  lands,  in  view  of  the  treaty  of 
1479,  would  be  found  to  belong  to  himself  rather 
than  to  the  monarchs  of  Castile  and  Aragon.  The 
Pope  was  the  international  mediator  in  all  questions 
of  this  kind.  The  Spanish  sovereigns  accordingly 
determined  to  turn  to  the  Pope  without  delay. 

The  pontiff  at  that  time  was  Alexander  VI.,  who, 
though  he  has  been  stigmatized  as  having  been  guilty 
of  nearly  every  vice,  was  not  unmindful  of  the  political 
significance  of  his  position.  Born  a  subject  of  Ara 
gon,  he  might  be  supposed  to  think  favourably  of  the 
claims  of  Spain  ;  but  Ferdinand  judged  his  character 
accurately,  and  therefore  thought  it  not  wise  to  trust 
anything  to  chance  or  accident.  Accordingly,  he 
despatched  ambassadors  to  the  court  of  Rome  to 
announce  the  new  discovery  with  due  formality,  and 
to  set  forth  the  gain  that  must  accrue  to  the  Church 
from  the  acquisition  of  so  vast  a  new  territory.  The 
ambassadors  were  charged  to  say  that  great  care  had 
been  taken  not  to  trench  upon  the  possessions  that 
had  been  ceded  to  Portugal.  On  one  further  point 
the  instructions  of  Ferdinand  were  characteristic  of 
his  great  political  acumen.  He  desired  to  intimate 
as  delicately  as  possible,  but  at  the  same  time  with 
unequivocal  distinctness,  that  whatever  the  papal 
pleasure  might  be,  he  should  maintain  and  defend  his 
newly  acquired  possessions  at  all  hazards.  This  he 


THE  FIRST  VOYAGE.  123 

did  by  instructing  his  ambassadors  to  say  that  in  the 
opinion  of  many  learned  men  it  was  not  necessary 
that  he  should  obtain  the  papal  sanction  for  the  title 
of  the  newly  discovered  lands,  but  that  notwithstanding 
this  fact,  as  pious  and  devoted  princes,  the  king  and 
queen  supplicated  his  Holiness  to  issue  a  papal  bull 
conceding  the  lands  which  Columbus  had  discovered, 
or  hereafter  might  discover,  to  the  Crown  of  Castile. 

The  news  was  received  by  Alexander  with  great 
joy;  and  the  request  was  the  more  readily  granted 
because  of  the  favour  which  the  Spanish  sovereigns  had 
recently  acquired  at  Rome  by  the  successful  termina 
tion  of  the  terrible  conflict  with  the  Moors.  Indeed, 
these  new  discoveries  appear  to  have  been  regarded 
as  in  some  sense  an  appropriate  reward  for  the  vigor 
ous  prosecution  of  that  crusade  against  the  infidels. 
A  bull  was  accordingly  issued  on  the  2d  of  May,  1493, 
conceding  to  the  Spanish  sovereigns  the  same  rights 
and  privileges  in  respect  to  the  newly  discovered 
lands  in  the  West  as  had  previously  been  granted  to 
the  king  of  Portugal  in  regard  to  their  discoveries  in 
Africa.  In  order  to  prevent  the  liability  of  dispute  as 
to  jurisdiction,  this  bull  was  accompanied  with  another 
to  determine  a  line  of  demarcation.  The  pope  es 
tablished  an  imaginary  line  "  one  hundred  leagues 
west  of  the  Azores  and  Cape  de  Verde  Islands,"  ex 
tending  from  pole  to  pole.  All  lands  west  of  this 
line  that  had  not  been  discovered  by  some  other 
Christian  power  before  the  preceding  Christmas, 
and  that  had  been  or  might  hereafter  be  discov 
ered  by  Spanish  navigators,  should  belong  to  the 


124  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

Crown  of  Spain ;  all  east  of  that  line,  to  the  Crown 
of  Portugal. 

While  these  negotiations  were  going  on  with  the 
Pope,  great  activity  was  displayed  in  preparation  for 
the  next  voyage.  In  order  to  further  the  interests  of 
Spain  in  the  West,  what  in  these  days  we  should  per 
haps  call  a  bureau  of  discovery  was  now  established. 
This  was  placed  under  the  superintendence  of  Fon- 
seca,  archdeacon  of  Seville,  who  afterward  received 
several  high  ecclesiastical  honours,  including  the  patri 
archate  of  the  Indies.  He  was  already  a  man  of  posi 
tion  and  influence ;  but  the  writers  of  the  time  agree 
that  he  was  possessed  of  a  worldly  spirit,  and  was  de 
voted  to  temporal  rather  than  to  spiritual  affairs.  He 
seemed,  however,  to  be  so  well  adapted  to  the  form 
ing  and  the  fitting  out  of  armadas  that,  notwithstand 
ing  his  high  ecclesiastical  dignities,  the  monarchs  saw 
fit  to  keep  him  in  virtual  control  of  Indian  affairs  for 
about  thirty  years.  Though  he  had  great  business 
abilities,  he  was  capable  of  intense  animosity,  and  was 
by  no  means  above  gratifying  his  private  resentments 
in  the  most  malignant  and  vindictive  spirit.  To  assist 
Fonseca,  Francisco  Pinelo  was  appointed  treasurer, 
and  Juan  de  Soria  comptroller.  Their  office  was 
fixed  at  Seville,  but  the  jurisdiction  of  the  company, 
as  we  shall  see,  extended  over  a  wide  territory.  Cadiz 
was  made  the  special  port  of  entry,  with  a  custom 
house  for  the  new  branch  of  maritime  service. 

The  despotic  rigour  with  which  affairs  were  then 
kept  in  the  hands  of  the  government  is  well  illus 
trated  by  the  character  of  the  orders  that  were 


THE  FIRST  VOYAGE.  125 

issued.  No  one  was  permitted  to  go  to  the  New 
World,  either  to  trade  or  to  form  an  establishment  for 
other  reasons,  without  an  express  license  from  the 
sovereigns,  from  Fonseca,  or  from  Columbus.  A  still 
more  despotic  spirit  was  shown  in  the  royal  order 
commanding  that  "  all  ships  in  the  ports  of  Andalusia, 
with  their  captains,  pilots,  and  crews,"  should  hold 
themselves  in  readiness  to  serve  in  the  new  expe 
dition.  Columbus  and  Fonseca  were  authorized  to 
purchase,  at  their  own  price,  any  vessel  that  was 
needed,  and,  in  case  of  necessity,  to  take  it  by 
force.  They  were  also  authorized  to  seize  the  requi 
site  arms,  provisions,  and  ammunitions  "  at  any  place 
or  in  any  vessel  in  which  they  might  be  found,"  pay 
ing  therefor  such  a  price  as  they  themselves  might  fix 
upon  as  fair  and  just.  They  were  also  authorized  to 
compel,  not  mariners  alone,  but  officers  holding  any 
rank  or  station  whatsoever,  to  embark  on  their  fleet, 
under  such  conditions  and  pay  as  they  might  deem 
reasonable.  Finally,  all  civil  authorities  were  called 
upon  to  render  every  assistance  in  expediting  the 
armament,  and  were  warned  not  to  allow  any  impedi 
ment  to  be  thrown  in  the  way,  on  penalty  of  loss  of 
office  and  confiscation  of  estate.  To  provide  the 
necessary  expenses,  the  Crown  pledged  two  thirds  of 
the  church  tithes  and  the  sequestered  property  of  the 
Jews,  who,  by  the  edict  of  the  preceding  year,  had 
been  deprived  of  their  jewels  and  other  possessions 
and  ordered  out  of  the  realm.  If,  notwithstanding 
these  somewhat  ample  resources,  there  should  still  be 
a  lack  of  funds,  the  treasurer  was  authorized  to  con- 


126  CHRISTOPHER    COLUMBUS. 

tract  a  loan.  These  orders  were  issued  while  Colum 
bus  was  still  at  Barcelona,  and  presumably  with  his 
approval. 

Under  these  rigorous  instructions,  and  in  view  of 
the  popular  interest  in  the  enterprise,  preparations 
for  the  new  voyage  went  forward  without  delay.  Fon- 
seca  gave  himself  to  the  collecting  of  vessels  and  their 
equipment  with  great  energy.  But  notwithstanding 
the  great  resources  placed  at  his  disposal,  the  prepa 
ration  of  the  fleet  necessarily  made  slow  progress. 
Confronting  these  great  powers,  there  were  the  per 
petual  obstacles  of  human  nature  and  individual  inter 
est.  Even  despotism  has  its  limitations.  So  much 
opposition  was  found  to  be  in  the  way  of  the  prac 
tical  confiscation  of  ships  and  munitions  that  it  was 
not  until  the  summer  was  far  gone  that  the  fleet  was 
ready  to  sail.  Columbus  had  left  Barcelona  on  the 
28th  day  of  May ;  it  was  not  till  the  25th  of  Septem 
ber  that  the  fleet  were  ready  to  weigh  anchor  and  turn 
their  prows  to  the  west. 

There  were  special  reasons  why  the  Spanish  sove 
reigns  desired  Columbus  to  hasten  his  departure  on 
the  second  voyage.  A  diplomatic  controversy  of 
more  than  usual  subtilty  had  sprung  up  between  Fer 
dinand  and  Isabella  and  King  John  of  Portugal. 
The  Portuguese  monarch,  probably  moved  by  chagrin 
as  well  as  by  envy,  entertained  a  firm  determination 
not  to  abandon  his  claims  to  the  new  discoveries, 
except  from  the  most  absolute  necessity.  One  of  the 
historians  of  King  John's  reign  admits  that  this  mon 
arch  distributed  bribes  freely  among  the  courtiers  of 


THE  FIRST   VOYAGE.  127 

Ferdinand,  and  that  by  this  means  he  had  no  diffi 
culty  in  learning  of  the  secret  purposes  of  the  Spanish 
court.  Ambassadors  were  freely  interchanged  for 
the  purpose  of  settling  the  questions  of  jurisdiction 
that  had  been  raised.  At  one  time  the  envoy  of 
Ferdinand  was  intrusted  with  two  communications, 
one  of  which  was  friendly,  while  the  other  was  stern 
and  imperative  in  its  nature.  In  case  he  should 
find  a  pacific  disposition  on  the  part  of  the  Portu 
guese  king,  he  was  to  deliver  the  former ;  but  if  he 
should  learn  of  any  hostile  intent  to  seize  upon  or 
disturb  the  newly  discovered  lands,  he  was  to  present 
the  communication  couched  in  peremptory  terms, 
forbidding  him  to  undertake  any  enterprise  of  the 
kind. 

The  import  of  both  these  communications  was 
made  known  to  John  by  his  spies  at  the  Spanish 
court.  Accordingly,  he  conducted  himself  in  such  a 
way  as  to  draw  forth  only  the  more  pacific  despatch. 
But  notwithstanding  this  show  of  courtesy,  Ferdi 
nand  had  little  difficulty  in  learning  that  the  Portu 
guese  monarch  was  planning  to  seize  upon  the  new 
possessions  before  the  second  expedition  of  Colum 
bus  could  reach  its  destination.  His  policy,  therefore, 
was  not  only  to  hasten  the  preparations  of  the  new 
expedition,  but  also  to  delay  as  much  as  possible  by 
dilatory  negotiations  the  movements  of  King  John. 
In  this  latter  purpose  his  great  diplomatic  acumen 
had  full  scope,  and  was  entirely  successful.  He  pro 
posed  that  the  question  of  their  respective  rights 
should  be  submitted  for  arbitration.  The  envoys 


128  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

consumed  much  time  in  passing  with  great  cere 
mony  between  the  two  courts.  King  John  con 
sidered  it  prudent  neither  to  accept  nor  to  decline 
this  proposition  until  he  had  taken  the  precaution 
to  make  due  inquiries  of  the  Pope.  The  answer 
was  what,  in  view  of  the  papal  bull  above  referred 
to,  might  have  been  expected.  The  Portuguese  am 
bassador  was  informed  that  his  Holiness  would  adhere 
to  his  decision  establishing  the  line  of  demarcation 
at  a  hundred  leagues  west  of  the  Azores.  Thus 
Ferdinand  secured  a  twofold  triumph.  The  Pope 
had  confirmed  his  title,  and  time  enough  had  elapsed 
to  enable  the  Spanish  fleet  to  reach  the  disputed 
ground  before  the  fleet  of  King  John  could  be  put 
in  readiness  to  sail. 

It  remains  to  be  added  on  this  subject  that  King 
John,  finding  himself  defeated  in  his  attempts  to 
gain  possession  of  the  newly  discovered  territories, 
now  addressed  himself  to  the  task  of  having  the 
line  of  demarcation  extended  farther  to  the  west. 
In  this  he  was  more  successful.  After  prolonged 
negotiations,  it  was  finally  agreed,  and  the  agreement 
was  embodied  in  the  treaty  of  Tordesillas,  June 
7,  1494,  that  the  papal  line  of  partition  should  be 
moved  to  three  hundred  and  seventy  leagues  west 
of  the  Cape  de  Verde  Islands.  This  treaty  remained 
in  force  during  the  age  of  discovery,  and  its  impor 
tance  is  attested  by  the  fact  that  it  prevented  all 
further  discussions. 


THE  SECOND    VOYAGE.  129 


CHAPTER   IV. 

THE   SECOND    VOYAGE. 

ON  the  morning  of  the  25th  of  September,  1493, 
all  was  in  readiness  for  the  second  voyage.  The 
fleet,  consisting  of  seventeen  vessels,  large  and  small, 
was  at  anchor  in  the  bay  of  Cadiz.  The  scene 
presented  a  sharp  contrast  to  that  of  the  modest 
embarkation  at  Palos  the  year  before.  Now  there 
was  no  difficulty  in  recruiting  men ;  on  the  con 
trary,  those  who  were  permitted  to  accompany  the 
expedition  were  regarded  as  peculiarly  fortunate. 
Stories  of  the  untold  wealth  of  the  new  regions  had 
been  freely  circulated  and  were  very  generally  be 
lieved.  It  was  the  wellnigh  fatal  misfortune  of  the 
expedition  that  the  men  who  embarked  on  this  sec 
ond  voyage  believed  they  were  bound  for  golden 
regions,  where  nothing  but  wealth  and  the  indolent 
pleasures  of  the  tropics  awaited  them.  This  cur 
rent  but  unfortunate  belief  determined,  in  large 
measure,  the  personal  character  of  the  passengers 
and  the  crew.  Many  of  them  were  adventurers 
pure  and  simple ;  some  were  high-spirited  hidalgos 
seeking  romantic  experiences ;  some  were  hardy 
mariners  looking  for  new  laurels  in  unknown  seas ; 
9 


130  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

some  were  visionary  explorers  going  out  simply  for 
novelty  and  excitement ;  some  were  scheming  specu 
lators  eager  for  profit  at  the  expense  of  innocent 
natives ;  some  were  priests  more  or  less  devoutly 
solicitous  for  the  conversion  of  the  Indians  and  the 
propagation  of  the  Catholic  faith.  Unfortunately, 
among  them  all  there  was  nothing  of  that  sturdy 
yeomanry  which  has  ever  been  found  so  useful  in 
making  colonization  successful. 

Before  sunrise  the  whole  fleet  was  in  motion. 
Steering  to  the  southwest,  in  order  to  avoid  the 
domains  of  Portugal,  they  arrived  at  the  Grand 
Canary  on  the  ist  of  October.  Here  they  were 
detained  a  few  days  in  order  to  take  in  a  quantity 
of  swine,  calves,  goats,  and  sheep,  with  which  to 
stock  the  newly  discovered  lands.  The  Admiral 
took  the  precaution  of  giving  to  each  of  the  captains 
sealed  orders,  indicating  the  route  to  be  taken,  — 
which,  however,  were  not  to  be  opened  except  in 
case  a  vessel  should  lose  sight  of  the  fleet.  Happily 
this  precaution  proved  not  to  have  been  necessary. 
Weighing  anchor  again,  the  fleet,  on  the  yth  of  Octo 
ber,  took  a  southwesterly  course,  with  the  purpose 
of  making  the  Caribbees.  After  a  prosperous  voy 
age,  they  came  upon  land  on  the  morning  of  the 
3d  of  November. 

The  group  of  islands  among  which  Columbus  now 
found  himself  was  the  beautiful  cluster  which,  from 
the  eastern  end  of  Porto  Rico,  bends  around  in  the 
shape  of  a  crescent  toward  the  south,  and  forms  a 
broken  barrier  between  the  main  ocean  and  the 


THE  SECOATD    VOYAGE.  131 

Caribbean  Sea.  The  first  island  they  reached  he 
called  Dominica,  in  recognition  of  the  fact  that  it 
was  discovered  on  Sunday ;  but  the  group  as  a  whole, 
at  a  later  period,  he  somewhat  humorously  denomi 
nated  St.  Ursula  and  the  Eleven  Thousand  Virgins. 

After  cruising  around  several  of  the  smaller  islands, 
the  Admiral  discovered  a  place  for  safe  anchorage, 
and  went  ashore.  As  the  natives  fled  in  confusion, 
the  Spaniards  had  excellent  opportunities  of  inspect 
ing  their  ways  of  living.  A  village  was  found,  con 
sisting  of  twenty  or  thirty  houses  arranged  about  a 
hollow  square.  Each  had  its  portico  for  shelter 
from  the  sun.  Within  were  found  hammocks  of  net 
ting,  utensils  of  earthenware,  and  a  rude  form  of 
cotton  cloth.  In  one  of  the  houses  was  discovered 
a  cooking  utensil,  apparently  of  iron,  but  probably 
of  some  kind  of  stone  which,  when  burned,  has  a 
metallic  lustre.  But  what  struck  the  Spaniards  with 
special  interest,  and  even  with  horror,  was  the  sight 
of  human  bones,  —  giving  evidence,  as  the  discover 
ers  supposed,  that  they  were  indeed  in  the  land  of 
cannibals. 

On  the  following  day  the  boats  again  made  a  land 
ing,  —  this  time  on  an  island  which  was  named  Gua- 
daloupe,  —  and  succeeded  in  capturing  a  boy  and 
several  women.  From  these  Columbus  learned  that 
the  inhabitants  of  the  island  were  in  league  with  the 
peoples  of  two  other  islands,  and  that  this  rude  con 
federacy  made  war  on  all  the  rest.  Its  habit  was  to  go 
on  predatory  excursions  to  neighbouring  islands,  to 
make  prisoners  of  the  youngest  and  handsomest  of  the 


132  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

women  as  servants  and  companions,  and  to  capture 
men  and  children  to  be  killed  and  eaten.  It  was  also 
learned  that  nearly  all  the  warriors  of  the  island  were 
absent.  At  the  time  of  the  arrival,  the  king,  with  three 
hundred  men,  was  on  a  cruise  in  quest  of  prisoners ; 
the  women  meantime,  being  expert  archers,  were  left 
to  defend  their  homes  from  invasion. 

The  fleet  was  detained  for  several  days  by  the  tem 
porary  loss  of  one  of  the  captains  and  eight  of  his  men. 
The  commander  of  one  of  the  caravels  had  gone  on 
an  exploring  expedition,  and  penetrated  into  the 
forest  with  a  part  of  his  crew.  The  night  passed 
without  their  return,  and  the  greatest  apprehensions 
were  felt  for  their  safety.  Several  parties  were  sent 
out  in  various  directions  in  quest  of  them ;  but  no 
tidings  could  be  obtained.  It  was  not  until  several 
days  had  elapsed,  and  the  fleet  was  about  to  sail, 
that,  to  the  joy  of  all,  they  made  a  signal  from  the 
shore.  Their  abject  appearance  immediately  re 
vealed  how  terribly  they  had  suffered.  For  days 
they  had  wandered  about  in  a  vast  and  trackless 
forest,  climbing  mountains,  fording  streams,  utterly 
bewildered,  and  almost  in  despair  lest  the  Admiral, 
thinking  them  dead,  should  set  sail  and  leave  them 
to  perish.  Notwithstanding  the  universal  joy  over 
their  return,  the  Admiral,  with  very  questionable 
judgment,  put  the  captain  under  arrest,  and  stopped 
a  part  of  the  rations  of  the  other  men.  '  As  they  had 
strayed  away  without  permission,  Columbus  thought 
so  gross  a  breach  of  discipline  should  not  go  unpun 
ished.  It  seems  not  to  have  occurred  to  him  that 


THE  SECOND    VOYAGE.  133 

the  penalty  had  already  been  inflicted,  and  that  he 
now  had  an  opportunity  to  secure  the  loyalty  instead 
of  the  enmity  of  the  offenders. 

On  the  loth  of  November  the  Admiral  hoisted 
anchor,  and  with  all  on  board  turned  the  ships  to 
the  northwest  for  La  Navidad.  After  a  few  days 
at  one  of  the  intermediate  islands,  he  sent  a  boat 
on  shore  for  water  and  for  information.  The  boat's 
crew  found  a  village  occupied  exclusively  by  women 
and  children.  A  few  of  these  were  seized  and  taken 
on  board  the  ships.  In  one  of  the  affrays,  however, 
it  was  learned  that  the  Carib  women  could  ply  their 
bows  and  arrows  with  amazing  vigour  and  skill. 
Though  the  Spaniards  generally  covered  themselves 
successfully  with  their  bucklers,  two  of  them  were 
severely  wounded.  On  their  return  to  the  ships, 
a  canoe  containing  Carib  women  was  upset,  when, 
to  the  amazement  of  the  Spaniards,  it  was  found  that 
the  natives  could  discharge  their  arrows  while  swim 
ming,  as  skilfully  as  though  they  had  been  upon 
land.  One  of  the  arrows  thus  discharged  penetrated 
quite  through  a  Spanish  buckler. 

It  is  difficult  to  read  the  original  accounts  of  this 
expedition  without  receiving  from  it  a  very  painful 
impression.  Wherever  the  Spaniards  landed,  they 
must  have  left  a  remembrance  of  bitter  enmity. 
Their  inquiries  everywhere  were  for  gold,  and  their 
exploits  were  little  less  or  more  than  the  capture 
of  women  and  children.  The  natives  may  have  been 
cannibals  indeed ;  but  aside  from  all  question  of 
moral  obligation,  one  cannot  overlook  the  fact  that 


134  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS. 

they  were  capable  of  animosities,  and  that  in  conse 
quence  they  were  in  position  to  help  or  to  hinder 
the  success  of  the  Spanish  expedition.  It  is  not 
easy  to  understand  how,  as  a  matter  of  policy  alone, 
any  course  could  have  been  more  unwise  than  that 
which  was  pursued. 

It  was  the  22cl  of  November  before  the  fleet  ar 
rived  off  the  eastern  extremity  of  Hispaniola.  Great 
excitement  prevailed  among  the  crew  in  anticipation 
of  meeting  the  colonists  at  La  Navidad.  Arriving 
at  the  Gulf  of  Las  Flechas,  or,  as  it  is  now  called, 
Semana  Bay,  Columbus  thought  it  wise  to  send  ashore 
one  of  the  Indians  whom  the  year  before  he  had 
captured  at  this  place  and  taken  with  him  to  Spain. 
The  Indian  had  been  converted  to  Christianity,  and 
had  learned  so  much  of  the  Spanish  language  that 
the  Admiral  had  confident  hopes  of  his  rendering  im 
portant  service.  The  native  was  gorgeously  dressed, 
and  loaded  with  trinkets  with  which  to  make  a  fa 
vourable  impression  on  his  countrymen.  It  is  a  sig 
nificant  fact  that,  although  he  made  fair  promises 
of  every  kind,  he  was  never  seen  or  heard  of  again. 
The  loss  was  all  the  more  important  as  now  there 
was  remaining  with  the  fleet  only  one  of  the  Indians 
that  had  been  taken  to  Spain,  and  there  was  no 
certainty  that  even  this  one  would  not  escape  at  the 
first  opportunity. 

On  the  25th  the  Admiral  .cast  anchor  in  the  har 
bour  of  Monte  Christi,  desirous  of  taking  further  ob 
servations  about  the  mouth  of  the  stream  which,  in  the 
former  voyage,  he  had  called  the  Rio  del  Oro,  or  the 


THE  SECOND    VOYAGE.  135 

Golden  River.  But  all  the  pleasant  anticipations  of 
the  adventurers  now  began  to  be  overcast  with  gloomy 
forebodings.  On  the  banks  they  discovered  two  dead 
bodies,  with  arms  extended  and  bound  by  the  wrists 
to  a  wooden  stake  in  the  form  of  a  cross.  Other 
evidences  were  not  wanting  to  warrant  the  fear  that 
some  misfortune  had  befallen  Arana  and  his  com 
panions.  Two  days  later,  anchors  were  dropped  off 
the  harbour  of  Navidad.  Cannon  were  fired ;  but 
there  came  back  no  welcoming  response.  There 
was  no  sign  of  life,  —  nothing  but  a  deathlike  silence. 
It  was  now  evident  that  disaster  had  overtaken  the 
colony.  On  the  following  day  the  terrible  fact  was 
revealed  that  every  member  had  perished. 

The  first  shock  occasioned  by  this  information  was, 
however,  slightly  alleviated  by  the  friendly  bearing 
of  the  natives.  At  first  it  was  feared  that  there  had 
been  treachery  on  the  part  of  the  Indians  in  whom 
the  Admiral  had  reposed  confidence  and  friendship ; 
but  the  accounts  given  by  the  natives  tended  to  dis 
pel  this  fear,  and  to  convince  the  Spaniards  that  the 
colonists  had  perished  from  other  causes.  Some  of 
them,  it  was  said,  had  died  of  sickness ;  some  had 
fallen  in  quarrels  among  themselves ;  and  some, 
having  gone  to  other  parts  of  the  island,  had  taken 
Indian  wives  and  adopted  the  customs  of  the  natives. 
These  accounts  justified  the  hope  that  some  of  the 
garrison  were  yet  alive,  and  might  return  to  the  fleet 
and  give  an  account,  not  only  of  the  disaster,  but  also 
of  the  interior  of  the  island. 

But    on    going   ashore    to    reconnoitre,   Columbus 


136  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

found  very  little  reason  for  comfort  or  hope.  The 
fortress  was  a  ruin,  the  palisades  were  beaten  down, 
the  chests  were  broken  open,  the  provisions  were 
spoiled,  —  in  short,  the  whole  settlement  presented 
the  appearance  of  having  been  sacked  and  destroyed. 
Here  and  there  were  to  be  found  broken  utensils  and 
torn  garments,  but  no  traces  of  the  garrison  were 
to  be  seen.  Cannon  were  fired,  but  no  response 
was  awakened,  and  nothing  but  a  mournful  silence 
reigned  over  the  desolation. 

Columbus  had  ordered  Arana,  in  case  of  attack 
or  danger,  to  secrete  the  treasure  in  a  well ;  but  all 
their  efforts  to  discover  where  anything  had  been 
concealed  were  now  in  vain.  It  was  not  until  the 
search  had  been  kept  up  for  several  days  that  even 
dead  bodies  were  found.  Suspicions  were  revived 
that  there  had  been  treachery  on  the  part  of  the 
cacique ;  but  a  little  exploration  resulted  in  the  dis 
covery  that  the  tribal  village  of  that  official  had  also 
shared  in  the  disaster  that  had  befallen  the  garrison. 

Little  by  little  the  general  facts  of  the  calamity 
came  to  be  known.  The  colony,  with  the  exception 
of  the  commander,  was  made  up  of  men  of  the  low 
est  order.  The  list  included  a  considerable  number 
of  mariners  that  were  given  to  every  kind  of  excess 
and  turbulence.  Surrounded  by  savage  tribes,  they 
were  dependent  on  the  good-will  of  the  natives,  as 
well  as  on  their  own  prudence  and  good  conduct. 
Oviedo  assures  us  that  they  soon  fell  into  every 
species  of  wanton  abuse.  Some  were  prompted  by 
unrestrained  avarice,  and  some  by  gross  sensuality. 


THE  SECOND   VOYAGE.  137 

Not  content  with  the  two  or  three  wives  apiece  which 
the  good-natured  cacique  allowed  them,  they  gave 
themselves  up  to  the  most  unbridled  license  with  the 
wives  and  daughters  of  the  Indians.  The  natural 
consequences  followed.  Fierce  brawls  ensued  over 
their  ill-gotten  spoils  and  the  favours  of  the  Indian 
women.  The  injunctions  of  Columbus  that  they 
should  keep  together  in  the  fortress  and  maintain 
military  order  were  neglected  and  forgotten.  Many 
deserted  the  garrison,  and  lived  at  random  among 
the  natives.  These  were  gradually  formed  into 
groups,  to  protect  themselves  and  despoil  the  rest. 
Violent  affrays  ensued.  One  company,  under  the 
command  of  a  subordinate  officer,  set  out  for  the 
mines  of  Cibao,  of  which,  from  the  first,  they  had 
heard  marvellous  accounts.  The  region  to  which  they 
went  was  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  island,  —  a  ter 
ritory  governed  by  Caonabo,  a  Carib  chieftain  famous 
for  his  fierce  and  warlike  exploits.  He  was  the  hero 
of  the  island ;  and  the  departure  of  Columbus  gave 
him  an  opportunity  to  rid  the  country  of  those  who 
threatened  to  eclipse  his  authority.  When  now  his 
territory  was  actually  invaded,  he  determined  to  ex 
terminate  the  colony.  The  campaign  appears  not 
to  have  been  a  long  or  difficult  one.  The  cacique 
of  the  region  surrounding  La  Navidad  was  faithful 
to  his  promises,  and  fought  with  the  Spaniards  against 
the  Carib  chieftain.  But  even  their  united  efforts 
were  unsuccessful.  The  local  cacique,  Guacanagari, 
and  his  subjects  fought  faithfully  in  defence  of  their 
guests,  but  they  were  soon  overpowered.  Some  of 


I3  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS. 

the  Spaniards  were  killed  in  the  struggle,  some  were 
driven  into  the  sea  and  drowned,  some  were  mas 
sacred  on  shore ;  not  a  single  one  was  ever  heard 
of  again  alive. 

The  cacique  Guacanagari  continued  to  manifest 
his  friendly  interest  in  Columbus  and  his  crew, 
though  it  was  evident  that  his  belief  in  the  heavenly 
origin  and  character  of  the  Spaniards  had  been  sadly 
shaken.  It  is  said  that  the  gross  licentiousness  of  the 
garrison  had  already  impaired  his  veneration  for  the 
heaven-born  visitors.  When,  therefore,  Columbus  pro 
posed  to  establish  a  permanent  settlement  in  the  region, 
Guacanagari  expressed  his  satisfaction,  but  observed 
that  the  region  was  unhealthy,  and  that  perhaps  the 
Spaniards  could  do  better  in  some  other  locality. 

While  these  parleyings  were  going  on,  an  event 
occurred  of  interesting  and  even  romantic  signifi 
cance.  The  cacique  visited  the  ship  of  the  Admiral, 
and  was  greatly  interested  in  all  that  he  saw.  Among 
other  objects  of  curiosity  were  the  women  whom  the 
visitors  had  taken  as  prisoners  on  the  Caribbean 
Islands.  One  of  these,  who  by  reason  of  her  stately 
beauty  had  been  named  Catilina,  particularly  at 
tracted  the  interest  and  admiration  of  the  chieftain. 
Several  days  later,  a  brother  of  the  cacique  came  on 
board  under  pretence  of  bargaining  gold  for  Spanish 
trinkets.  In  the  course  of  his  visit  he  succeeded  in 
having  an  interview  with  Catilina.  At  midnight,  just 
before  the  fleet  was  about  to  sail,  the  tropical  beauty 
awakened  her  companions.  Though  the  ship  was 
anchored  three  miles  from  land  and  the  sea  was 


THE  SECOND    VOYAGE.  139 

rough,  they  let  themselves  down  by  the  sides  of  the 
vessel,  and  swam  vigorously  for  the  shore.  The 
watchmen,  however,  were  awakened,  and  a  boat  was 
quickly  sent  out  in  pursuit.  But  the  skill  and  vigour 
of  the  women  were  such  that  they  reached  the  land 
in  safety.  Though  four  of  them  were  retaken  on  the 
beach,  Catilina  and  the  rest  of  her  companions  made 
good  their  escape  to  the  forest.  On  the  following 
day,  when  Columbus  sent  to  demand  of  Guacanagari 
the  return  of  the  fugitives,  it  was  found  that  the 
cacique  had  removed  his  effects  and  his  followers 
to  the  interior.  This  sudden  departure  confirmed 
the  suspicion  in  the  mind  of  Columbus  that  Guacana 
gari  was  a  traitor  to  the  Spaniards ;  he  even  thought 
that  the  chief  had  been  the  perfidious  betrayer  of  the 
garrison. 

This  suspicion  made  Columbus  all  the  more  willing 
to  seek  another  spot  for  a  permanent  settlement. 
After  some  days  spent  in  explorations,  it  was  deter 
mined  to  establish  a  post  at  about  ten  leagues  east 
of  La  Navidad,  where  they  found  a  spacious  harbour, 
protected  on  one  side  by  a  natural  rampart  of  rocks, 
and  on  the  other  by  an  impervious  forest,  as  Ber- 
naldez  says,  "so  close  that  a  rabbit  could  hardly 
make  his  way  through  it."  A  green  and  beautiful 
plain,  extending  back  from  the  sea,  was  watered  by 
two  rivers,  which  promised  to  furnish  the  needed 
power  for  mills.  The  streams  abounded  in  fish, 
the  soil  was  covered  with  an  exuberant  vegetation, 
and  the  climate  appeared  to  be  temperate  and 
genial.  This  site  had  the  further  advantage  of 


140  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS, 

proximity  to  the  gold  mines  in  the  mountains  of 
Cibao. 

Here  the  first  American  city  was  projected,  to 
which  Columbus,  in  honour  of  the  queen,  gave  the 
name  of  Isabella,  Streets  and  squares  were  promptly 
laid  out ;  a  church,  a  public  storehouse,  and  a  resi 
dence  for  the  Admiral  were  begun  without  delay.  The 
public  houses  were  built  of  stone,  while  those  in 
tended  for  private  occupation  were  constructed  of 
wood,  plaster,  and  such  other  materials  as  the  situation 
afforded. 

It  was  not  long,  however,  before  there  was  abun 
dant  evidence  that  the  colony  was  made  up  of  men 
very  ill  adapted  to  the  peculiar  hardships  of  the  situa 
tion.  The  labour  of  clearing  lands,  building  houses, 
•and  planting  orchards  and  gardens  can  be  success 
fully  carried  on  only  by  men  accustomed  to  vigorous 
manual  labour.  The  stagnant  and  malarious  atmos 
phere  bore  hard  upon  those  who  had  been  accustomed 
to  old  and  highly  cultivated  lands.  Long  after  land 
ing,  moreover,  the  Spaniards  were  obliged  to  subsist 
very  largely  upon  salt  food  and  mouldy  bread.  It  is 
not  strange  that  the  maladies  peculiar  to  new  coun 
tries  broke  out  with  violence.  Disaffections  of  mind 
also  became  wellnigh  universal.  Many  of  the  ad 
venturers  had  embarked  with  the  expectation  of 
finding  the  golden  regions  of  Cipango  and  Cathay, 
where  fortunes  were  to  be  accumulated  without  ef 
fort.  Instead  of  the  realization  of  these  hopes,  they 
now  found  that  they  were  doomed  to  struggle  with 
the  hard  conditions  of  Nature,  and  to  toil  painfully 


THE  'SECOND  VOYAGE.  141 

for  the  merest  subsistence.  What  with  the  ravages 
of  disease  and  the  general  gloom  of  despondency, 
the  situation  soon  became  painful  indeed.  Even  the 
strength  of  Columbus  himself  was  obliged  finally  to 
succumb  to  the  cares  and  anxieties  of  the  situation. 
But  though  for  several  weeks  he  was  confined  to  his 
bed  by  illness,  he  still  had  the  fortitude  to  give  direc 
tions  about  the  building  of  the  city  and  the  superin 
tending  of  the  general  affairs  of  the  colony. 

The  situation  was  indeed  depressing.  Columbus 
had  hoped  that  soon  after  reaching  his  destination  he 
should  be  able  to  send  back  to  Spain  glowing  reports 
of  what  had  been  accomplished  by  the  settlers  at 
La  Navidad,  as  well  as  in  regard  to  his  own  discove 
ries.  But  the  destruction  of  the  colony  had  now 
rendered  such  a  report  impossible.  In  order,  how 
ever,  to  relieve  the  disappointment  at  home  as  much 
as  possible,  he  determined  to  send  out  two  exploring 
expeditions,  in  the  hope  that  the  cities  and  mines,  of 
which  he  had  heard  and  dreamed  so  much,  might  be 
discovered.  He  was  still  ardent  in  the  belief  that 
the  island  of  Hispaniola  was  none  other  than  Ci- 
pango,  and  that  somewhere  not  far  away  would  be 
found  the  cities  of  boundless  wealth  of  which  Marco 
Polo  and  Toscanelli  had  written. 

To  lead  the  two  expeditions  of  discovery,  Columbus 
selected  two  cavaliers  by  the  name  of  Ojeda  and 
Gorvalan.  The  former  had  already,  before  leaving 
Spain,  made  himself  famous  for  his  daring  spirit  and 
great  vigour  and  agility  of  body.  The  latter  seems 
also  to  have  been  well  adapted  to  the  task  before 


142  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

him.  The  expeditions  pressed  southward  into  the 
very  heart  of  the  island.  That  of  Ojeda  was  the 
more  interesting  and  the  more  important.  After 
climbing  the  adjacent  mountain  range,  the  explorers 
found  themselves  on  the  edge  of  a  vast  plain,  or  vega, 
that  was  studded  with  villages  and  hamlets.  The  in 
habitants  were  everywhere  hospitable.  Five  or  six 
days  were  needed  to  cross  the  plain  and  reach  the 
chain  of  mountains  that  were  said  to  enclose  the 
golden  region  of  Cibao.  Caonabo,  the  redoubtable 
chief  of  the  region,  nowhere  appeared  to  dispute 
their  passage.  The  natives  everywhere  received  the 
explorers  with  kindness,  and  pointed  out  to  them 
numerous  evidences  of  natural  wealth.  Particles  of 
shining  gold  were  seen  in  the  mountain-streams,  and 
if  we  may  believe  the  chroniclers  of  the  time,  Ojeda 
himself,  in  one  of  the  brooks,  picked  up  a  large  mass 
of  native  metal.  As  the  object  of  the  expedition 
was  merely  to  explore  the  nature  of  the  country, 
Ojeda  was  now  satisfied  with  the  result,  and  accord 
ingly  he  led  back  his  band  of  explorers  to  the  fleet. 
He  gave  a  glowing  account  of  the  golden  resources 
of  the  island,  and  his  story  was  corroborated  by  the 
report  of  Gorvalan.  Columbus  decided  at  once  to 
send  back  a  report  to  the  Spanish  monarchs.  Twelve 
of  the  ships  were  ordered  to  put  themselves  in 
readiness  for  the  return  voyage. 

The  report  sent  by  Columbus  was  one  of  great  im 
portance.  He  described  the  exploring  expeditions 
in  glowing  terms,  and  repeated  his  former  hopes 
of  being  able  soon  to  make  abundant  shipments  of 


THE  SECOND  VOYAGE.  143 

gold  and  other  articles  of  value.  Special  stress  was 
laid  on  the  beauty  and  fertility  of  the  land,  in 
cluding  its  adaptation  to  the  raising  of  the  various 
grains  and  vegetables  produced  in  Europe.  Time, 
however,  would  be  required,  he  said,  to  obtain  the 
provisions  necessary  for  subsistence  from  the  fields 
and  gardens ;  and  therefore  the  colonists  must  rely, 
for  a  considerable  time  to  come,  upon  shipments  from 
home.  He  then  enumerated  the  articles  that  would 
be  especially  needed.  He  censured  the  contractors 
that  had  furnished  the  wine,  charging  them  with  using 
leaky  casks,  and  then  called  for  an  additional  number 
of  workmen  and  mechanics  and  men  skilled  in  the 
working  of  ores. 

This  interesting  report  is  still  preserved,  with  the 
comments  of  the  Spanish  sovereigns  written  on  the 
margins.  To  the  descriptions  of  what  had  been 
done,  as  well  as  to  the  recommendations  for  the  fu 
ture,  commendation  and  assent  were  given  in  generous 
and  complimentary  terms.  One  or  two  passages  are 
of  exceptional  interest.  In  regard  to  the  wine, 
Columbus  writes,  — 

"  A  large  portion  of  the  wine  that  we  brought  with  us 
has  run  away,  in  consequence,  as  most  of  the  men  say,  of 
the  bad  cooperage  of  the  butts  made  at  Seville  ;  the  arti 
cle  that  we  stand  most  in  need  of  now,  and  shall  stand  in 
need  of,  is  wine." 

To  this  declaration,  which  would  seem  to  be  good 
evidence  that  dishonest  or  negligent  contractors  are 
not  the  peculiarity  of  the  nineteenth  century,  the 
following  was  the  royal  response  :  — 


144  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

"  Their  Highnesses  will  give  instructions  to  Don  Juan 
de  Fonseca  to  make  inquiry  respecting  the  imposition  in 
the  matter  of  the  casks,  in  order  that  those  who  supplied 
them  shall,  at  their  own  expense,  make  good  the  loss 
occasioned  by  the  waste  of  the  wine,  together  with  the 
costs." 

But  the  most  interesting,  as  well  as  the  most  signi 
ficant  part  of  the  report  is  that  which  pertains  to  what 
was  nothing  less  than  a  purpose  to  open  a  slave-trade 
on  a  large  scale  between  the  islands  and  the  mother- 
country.  In  a  former  portion  of  the  letter,  Columbus 
had  already  called  attention  to  the  advantages  that 
would  flow  from  a  system  of  sending  slaves  to  Spain 
to  be  educated  in  the  Spanish  language,  and  then 
brought  back  to  the  islands  as  interpreters.  To  this 
proposal  the  royal  assent  was  given  in  the  following 
characteristic  words  :  — 

"  He  has  done  well,  and  let  him  do  what  he  says  ;  but 
let  him  endeavour  by  all  possible  means  to  connect  them 
to  our  holy  Catholic  religion,  and  do  the  same  with 
respect  to  the  inhabitants  of  all  the  islands  to  which  he 
may  go." 

But  to  the  more  elaborate  and  systematic  proposal, 
a  different  answer  was  returned.  The  paragraph  of 
the  memorial  containing  the  proposition  is  so  curious 
a  combination  of  sophistry  and  good  motives  that  it 
will  bear  quoting  as  a  whole.  The  reader  should  per 
haps  be  reminded  that  although  the  paper  was  in 
tended  for  the  king  and  queen,  it  was  addressed  to 
Antonio  de  Torres,  as  ambassador.  The  following  is 
the  language  of  Columbus  :  — 


THE  SECOND    VOYAGE.  145 

"  You  will  tell  their  Highnesses  that  the  welfare  of  the 
souls  of  the  said  cannibals,  and  the  inhabitants  of  this 
island  also,  has  suggested  the  thought  that  the  greater 
number  that  are  sent  over  to  Spain  the  better,  and  thus 
good  service  may  result  to  their  Highnesses  in  the  follow 
ing  manner.  Considering  what  great  need  we  have  of 
cattle  and  beasts  of  burden,  both  for  food  and  to  assist 
the  settlers  in  this  and  all  these  islands,  both  for  peopling 
the  land  and  cultivating  the  soil,  their  Highnesses  might 
authorize  a  suitable  number  of  caravels  to  come  here 
every  year  to  bring  over  said  cattle  and  provisions  and 
other  articles ;  these  cattle,  etc.,  might  be  sold  at  mode 
rate  prices  for  account  of  the  bearers,  and  the  latter  might 
be  paid  with  slaves  taken  from  among  the  Caribbees,  who 
are  a  wild  people,  fit  for  any  work,  well  proportioned  and 
very  intelligent,  and  who,  when  they  have  got  rid  of  the 
cruel  habits  to  which  they  have  been  accustomed,  will  be 
better  than  any  other  kind  of  slaves.  When  they  are 
out  of  their  country,  they  will  forget  their  cruel  customs  ; 
and  it  will  be  easy  to  obtain  plenty  of  these  savages  by 
means  of  row-boats  that  we  propose  to  build.  It  is  taken 
for  granted  that  each  of  the  caravels  sent  by  their  High 
nesses  will  have  on  board  a  confidential  man,  who  will 
take  care  that  the  vessels  do  not  stop  anywhere  else  than 
here,  where  they  are  to  unload  and  reload  their  vessels. 
Their  Highnesses  might  fix  duties  on  the  slaves  that 
may  be  taken  over,  upon  their  arrival  in  Spain.  You  will 
ask  for  a  reply  upon  this  point,  and  bring  it  to  me,  in 
order  that  I  may  be  able  to  take  the  necessary  measures, 
should  the  proposition  merit  the  approbation  of  their 
Highnesses." 

To  this  elaborate  scheme  for  reducing  the  natives 
to  slavery  the  sovereigns  gave  the  diplomatic  answer 
characteristic  of  those  who  would  say  no  in  a  manner 
10 


146  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

that  would  give  the  least  offence.     The  royal  language 
was  the  following  :  — 

"  The  consideration  of  this  subject  has  been  suspended 
for  a  time  until  further  advices  arrive  from  the  other  side ; 
let  the  Admiral  write  more  fully  what  he  thinks  upon  the 
matter." 

The  authority  asked  for  certainly  was  not  granted  ; 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  there  was  no  intimation  that 
the  proposition  would,  in  the  end,  meet  with  a  refusal. 
Columbus  seems  to  have  thought  it  not  imprudent 
to  take  advantage  of  the  doubt ;  for  Bernaldez  tells 
us  that  the  Admiral  "  made  incursions  into  the  inte 
rior,  and  captured  vast  numbers  of  the  natives ;  and 
the  second  time  that  he  sent  home,  he  sent  five  hun 
dred  Indian  men  and  women,  all  in  the  flower  of  their 
age,  between  twelve  years  and  thirty- five  or  there 
abouts,  all  of  whom  were  delivered  at  Seville  to  Don 
Juan  de  Fonseca."  "They  came,"  continued  Bernal 
dez,  "  as  they  went  about  in  their  own  country,  naked 
as  they  were  born ;  from  which  they  experienced  no 
more  embarrassment  than  the  brutes."  "They  were 
sold,"  the  narrator  adds,  "  but  proved  of  very  little 
service,  for  the  greater' part  of  them  died  of  the 
climate." 

Of  interesting  significance  also  are  the  passages 
and  answers  relating  to  gold.  In  one  of  the  para 
graphs  Columbus  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that 
although  the  gold  discovered  has  been  found  in  the 
streams,  it  must  have  come  from  the  earth,  and  that 
the  procuring  of  it  will  involve  the  delay  necessarily 


THE  SECOND   VOYAGE.  147 

attending  the  establishment  of  mining  operations. 
He  recommends  that  labourers  in  considerable  num 
bers  be  sent  out  from  the  quicksilver  mines.  To 
these  suggestions  the  king  responds,  — 

"It  is  the  most  necessary  thing  possible  that  he  should 
strive  to  find  the  way  to  this  gold." 

And  to  the  suggestion  in  regard  to  the  mines  he 
responds,  — 

"  This  shall  be  completely  provided  for  in  the  next 
voyage  out ;  meanwhile  Don  Juan  de  Fonseca  has  their 
Highnesses'  orders  to  send  as  many  miners  as  he  can 
find.  Their  Highnesses  write  also  to  Almaden  with 
instructions  to  select  the  greatest  number  that  can  be 
procured,  and  to  send  them  up." 

After  the  departure  of  the  vessels  for  Spain,  the 
Admiral,  having  for  the  most  part  recovered  his 
health,  determined  to  make  an  expedition  in  person 
into  the  heart  of  the  island.  Accordingly,  on  the 
1 2th  of  March,  1494,  he  set  out  with  the  requisite 
number  of  men,  foot  and  horse,  for  the  province  of 
Cibao.  This  region  was  distant  about  eighteen 
leagues.  To  reach  his  destination  it  was  necessary 
to  cross  the  beautiful  plain  which  had  already  been 
described  by  Ojeda,  and  to  which  the  Admiral  now 
gave  the  name  of  Royal  Vega.  On  the  border  of 
Cibao  he  decided  to  build  a  fortress,  which  should  be 
at  once  a  protection  and  a  rallying-point.  The  na 
tives  as  yet  continued  to  be  friendly,  and  came  in 
considerable  numbers  to  barter  bits  of  gold  for  such 
trinkets  as  the  Spaniards  might  give  in  exchange. 


148  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

The  gold  mines,  however,  seemed  to  be  as  far  away 
as  ever,  although  glowing  accounts  were  given  by  the 
natives  of  the  nuggets  that  were  to  be  discovered  be 
yond  the  mountains.  But  instead  of  completing  his 
explorations  in  person,  Columbus  now  determined  to 
return  to  the  fleet  and  make  a  voyage  to  what  he  sup 
posed  to  be  the  continent.  The  fortress,  to  which  he 
gave  the  name  St.  Thomas,  was  intrusted  to  a  garri 
son  under  the  command  of  Margarite,  an  officer  of 
high  rank  and  much  experience. 

It  is  of  interest  to  note  at  this  point  that  the  early 
opinions  of  the  Spaniards  in  regard  to  the  Indians 
had  slowly  undergone  a  very  considerable  change. 
Further  acquaintance  had  convinced  Columbus  that 
they  were  not  quite  so  guileless  and  docile  as  at  first 
he  had  supposed  them  to  be.  They  were  found  to 
know  something  of  war,  —  at  least  to  be  acquainted 
with  certain  rude  methods  of  attack  and  defence. 
The  proximity  of  the  Caribs  was  giving  them  a  con 
stant  schooling  in  the  art  of  self-protection. 

It  is  at  this  point  that  Bernaldez,  a  companion  and 
friend  of  Columbus,  gives  an  interesting  account  of 
the  products  of  the  islands  and  of  some  of  the  pecu 
liarities  of  the  natives.  The  following  passage  is  per 
haps  the  most  graphic  and  circumstantial  account  left 
us  by  any  contemporaneous  writer  :  — 

"  As  the  people  of  all  these  islands  are  destitute  of 
iron,  it  is  wonderful  to  see  their  tools,  which  are  of  stone, 
very  sharp  and  admirably  made,  such  as  axes,  adzes,  and 
other  instruments,  which  they  use  in  constructing  their 
dwellings.  Their  food  is  bread,  made  from  roots,  which 


THE  SECOND    VOYAGE.  149 

God  has  given  them  instead  of  wheat;  for  they  have 
neither  wheat  nor  rye,  nor  barley,  nor  oats,  nor  spelt- 
wheat,  nor  panic-grass,  nor  anything  resembling  them. 
No  kind  of  food  that  the  Castilians  had  as  yet  tasted  was 
like  anything  that  we  have  here.  There  were  no  beans, 
nor  chick-peas,  nor  vetches,  nor  lentils,  nor  lupines,  nor 
any  quadruped  or  animal,  excepting  some  small  dogs,  and 
the  others,  which  look  like  large  rats,  or  something  be 
tween  a  large  rat  and  a  rabbit,  and  are  very  good  and 
savoury  for  eating,  and  have  feet  and  paws  like  rats,  and 
climb  trees.  The  dogs  are  of  all  colours,  —  white,  black, 
etc.  There  are  lizards  and  snakes,  but  not  many,  for  the 
Indians  eat  them,  and  think  them  as  great  a  dainty 
as  partridges  are  to  the  Castilians.  The  lizards  are 
like  ours  in  size,  but  different  in  shape,  though,  in  a 
little  island  near  the  harbour  called  San  Juan,  where  the 
squadron  remained  several  days,  a  lizard  was  several 
times  seen,  as  large  round  as  a  young  calf,  and  as  smooth 
as  a  lance;  and  several  times  they  attempted  to  kill  it, 
but  could  not,  on  account  of  the  thickness  of  the  trees, 
and  it  fled  into  the  sea.  Besides  eating  lizards  and 
snakes,  these  Indians  devour  all  the  spiders  and  worms 
that  they  find,  so  that  their  beastliness  appears  to  exceed 
that  of  any  beast." 

Modern  investigation  has  thrown  much  light  on 
the  physical  characteristics  of  the  native  inhabitants 
of  the  Lucayan  or  Bahama  islands.  Some  years  ago 
Ecker  and  Wyman  studied  the  subject,  and  more 
recently  Prof.  W.  K.  Brooks  has  visited  the  islands 
and  presented  a  memoir  to  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences  on  the  peculiarities  of  the  bones  discovered 
in  the  course  of  his  investigations.  It  is  clearly  estab 
lished  that  the  natives  belonged  to  a  large  and  well- 


150  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

developed  race.  Ecker  found  bones  which  he  thought 
must  have  belonged  to  a  race  of  giants.  But  Pro 
fessor  Brooks  is  of  the  opinion  that  they  "  did  not 
depart  essentially  from  the  Spanish  average."  His 
measurements  showed  that  "  The  skulls  are  large,  and 
about  equal  in  size  to  the  average  modern  civilized 
white  skull." 

It  is  pathetic  to  reflect  that  this  race  was,  in  a  few 
years,  swept  completely  out  of  existence  by  the 
methods  of  the  Spaniards.  The  annals  of  cruelty 
present  no  darker  picture  than  that  given  us  by  Las 
Casas,  who  at  the  time  was  a  sad  witness  of  what  was 
taking  place.  The  five  shiploads  of  slaves  sent 
back  by  Columbus  in  the  course  of  his  second  expe 
dition  was  but  the  beginning  of  a  policy  which  did 
not  end  till  the  six  hundred  islands  of  the  Bahamas 
were  completely  depopulated.  The  work  begun  by 
the  Admiral  was  completed  by  bloodhounds  in  less 
than  a  generation.  The  race  perished,  and  may 
be  said  to  have  left  only  a  single  word  as  a  monu 
ment.  The  Spaniards  took  from  them  the  word 
"hammock,"  and  gave  it  to  all  the  languages  of 
western  Europe. 

After  Columbus  returned  to  Isabella  from  St. 
Thomas  he  devoted  himself  for  some  days  to  put 
ting  the  colony  in  order,  preparatory  to  his  own 
departure  on  a  further  voyage  of  discovery.  Second 
only  to  the  desire  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  for  gold, 
was  their  wish  that  Columbus  should  devote  himself, 
as  far  as  possible,  to  further  discoveries.  This  dispo 
sition,  so  perfectly  in  accord  with  the  enterprising 


THE   SECOND   VOYAGE.  151 

spirit  of  the  Admiral,  was  fostered  by  a  common 
jealousy  of  the  Portuguese ;  for  while  the  ships  of 
Columbus,  after  going  westward,  were  exploring  what 
they  supposed  to  be  the  islands  of  the  East,  the 
fleets  of  John  II.  of  Portugal  were  making  their  way 
toward  India  by  going  eastward.  The  more  rapidly, 
therefore,  each  nation  could  advance,  the  more  of  the 
"much-coveted  lands  "  each  nation  would  hereafter 
be  able  to  claim.  Acting  in  accordance  with  this 
impulse  and  policy,  Columbus  was  determined  to  leave 
the  garrisons  at  Isabella  and  St.  Thomas,  and,  with 
a  sufficient  crew,  proceed  to  explore  and  plant  his 
standards  on  what  he  confidently  supposed  to  be  the 
continent. 

This  purpose  was  in  many  respects  unfortunate  ; 
for  the  garrisons  were  in  no  condition  to  be  intrusted 
with  the  independent  working  out  of  their  own  des 
tiny.  There  was  wellnigh  universal  discontent.  It 
is  easy  to  imagine  the  condition  of  affairs.  Sickness 
everywhere  prevailed.  The  encampments  —  for  they 
were  little  else  —  were,  as  we  must  not  forget,  made  up 
of  men  of  all  ranks  and  stations.  Some  were  hidalgos, 
some  were  men  who  had  been  attached  to  the  court, 
some  were  common  labourers ;  but  all  men,  high  and 
low,  were  obliged  to  labour  with  their  hands,  under 
regulations  that  were  strictly  enforced.  Many  had 
joined  the  expedition  in  the  belief  that  they  would 
find  gold  in  abundance  ;  but  now  they  found  sickness 
and  hardships  of  the  most  exacting  kind.  These 
discontents  found  expression  at  length  in  a  mutinous 
spirit  that  threatened  to  seize  the  ships  and  leave 


IS2  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

Columbus  alone  to  his  fate.  The  chief  mutineer, 
Bernald  Diaz,  was  seized  and  sent  for  trial  to  Spain. 
But  the  disappointments  were  so  numerous  and  so 
intense  that  many  members  of  the  expedition,  espe 
cially  those  high  in  rank,  thinking  that  Columbus  had 
deceived  them,  not  only  charged  him  with  all  their 
discomforts,  but  even  showed  a  relentless  disposition 
to  pursue  him  to  his  ruin.  It  was  with  this  state  of 
affairs,  impending  or  actually  in  existence,  that  Co 
lumbus,  on  the  24th  of  April,  1494,  hoisted  sail  for 
Cuba  and  the  other  lands  in  the  west.  His  brother 
Diego  was  left  in  command  at  Isabella. 

On  approaching  the  easternmost  point  of  Cuba  the 
fleet  turned  to  the  left,  with  the  intention  of  exploring 
the  southern  coast,  instead  of  the  northern,  as  the  Ad 
miral  had  done  in  the  first  voyage.  Bernaldez,  who 
probably  often  talked  the  matter  over  with  Columbus, 
distinctly  tells  us  that  it  was  the  object  of  the  Admiral 
to  find  the  province  and  city  of  Cathay.  The  naive 
and  confident  statement  of  this  historian  is  worthy  of 
note,  for  it  doubtless  reflected  the  belief  entertained  by 
Columbus  till  the  day  of  his  death.  Bernaldez  says  : 
"This  province  is  in  the  dominion  of  the  Grand 
Kahn,  and,  as  described  by  John  de  Mandeville  and 
others  who  have  seen  it,  is  the  richest  province 
in  the  world,  and  the  most  abundant  in  gold  and 
silver  and  other  metals,  and  silks.  The  people  are 
all  idolaters,  and  are  a  very  acute  race,  skilled  in 
necromancy,  learned  in  all  the  arts  and  courtesies ; 
and  of  this  place  many  marvels  are  written,  which 
may  be  found  in  the  narrative  of  the  noble  English 


THE    SECOND    VOYAGE.  153 

knight,  John  de  Mandeville,  who  visited  the  coun 
try,  and  lived  for  some  time  with  the  Grand  Kahn." 
And  then,  after  stating  how  it  was  that,  in  his 
opinion,  Columbus  missed  his  mark,  he  says  :  "  And 
so  I  told  him,  and  made  him  know  and  under 
stand,  in  the  year  1496,  when  he  first  returned  to 
Castile  after  this  expedition,  and  when  he  was  my 
guest,  and  left  with  me  some  of  his  papers  in  the 
presence  of  Juan  de  Fonseca.  .  .  .  From  these  pa 
pers,"  he  continues,  "  I  have  drawn  and  have  com 
pared  them  with  others,  which  were  written  by  that 
honourable  gentleman,  the  Doctor  Chanca,  and  other 
noble  gentlemen  who  came  with  the  Admiral  in  the 
voyages  already  described." 

Bernaldez  also  tells  us  that  Columbus  at  first  sup 
posed  the  land,  which  he  called. Juana,  but  which  the 
natives  called  Cuba,  to  be  an  island,  and  that  it  was 
not  until  he  had  made  a  voyage  along  the  coast 
that  he  inferred  confidently  that  it  was  the  mainland. 
To  the  questions  of  the  Admiral  on  this  subject,  the 
Indians  were  able  to  give  no  satisfactory  answer ; 
"  for,"  says  Bernaldez,  "  they  are  a  stupid  race,  who 
think  that  all  the  world  is  an  island,  and  do  not  know 
what  a  continent  is." 

The  westward  sail  was  continued,  with  some  inter 
ruptions,  from  the  ist  of  May  till  the  i2th  of  June, 
without  any  occurrence  sufficiently  remarkable  to 
require  extended  notice.  One  statement  of  excep 
tional  interest,  however,  is  made  by  the  writer  already 
so  frequently  quoted.  Bernaldez  says  that  "  at  this 
point  it  occurred  to  the  Admiral  that,  if  he  should  be 


154  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

prospered,  he  might  succeed  in  returning  to  Spain  by 
the  East,  going  to  the  Ganges,  thence  to  the  Arabian 
Gulf,  by  land,  from  Ethiopia  to  Jerusalem  and  to 
Joppa,  whence  he  might  embark  on  the  Mediterra 
nean,  and  arrive  at  Cadiz."  Although,  in  the  opinion 
of  the  narrator,  this  passage  would  be  possible,  he  says 
f  it  would  be  very  perilous  ;  "  for  from  Ethiopia  to  Jeru 
salem,  the  inhabitants  are  all  Moors."  He  rightly 
inferred  that  so  near  the  close  of  the  Moorish  wars, 
the  Spaniards  would  do  well  not  to  intrust  themselves 
to  the  vicissitudes  of  a  journey  through  Arabia. 

On   the    1 2th   of  June   the   mutinous  spirit  of  the 
crew  was  so  general  that  the  Admiral  decided  to  turn 
back.     It  is  easy  to  understand  that  he  did  so  with 
•C^  great  reluctance.     He  had  determined  to  reach  the 
continent,  and  if  possible  go   to  Cathay,,  the  home 
of  that  luxury  and  wealth  which  had  so  excited  the 
readers  of  John  de  Mandeville.     Would  he  now  return 
J^~  and    confess    to    failure  ?     In    order    to    answer    this 
.question,   he   resorted   to   a    device    that    must    ever 
remain  as  a  conspicuous  stigma,  not  only  upon  his 
character,  but  also  upon  his  good  sense.     He  resolved 
to  establish  a  geographical  fact  by  a  certificate  under 
;    oath.     He  drew  up  the  eighty  men  of  his  crew,^and 
required  them   to  swear  before  a  notary  that  it  was 
possible  to  go  from  Cuba  to  Spain  by  land.     Accord 
ingly,  it  was  solemnly  sworn  that  Cuba  was  a  part  of 
the  mainland,  —  that   is  to  say,  Cathay ;   and  it  was 
further  ordered  that  if  any  sceptic  should  deny  this 
important  fact,  he  should  be  fined  ten  thousand  mara- 
vedis.     If  any  lack  of  faith  in  this  great  geographical 


THE  SECOND    VOYAGE.  155 

fact  should  disclose  itself  on  the  part  of  any  common 
sailor,  the  culprit,  as  he  would,  of  course,  not  have 
the  money,  was  to  have  a  hundred  lashes,  and  then 
be  incapacitated  for  further  lying  by  having  his  tongue 
pulled  out. 

/•  In  the  course  of  this  voyage,  Columbus  made  many 
discoveries,  among  them  the  island  of  Jamaica  and 
the  group  known  as  the  Garden  of  the  Queen. 
Among  these  islands  the  ships  often  ran  aground,  and 
the  difficulties  of  navigation  were  such  that  for  many 
days  the  Admiral  is  said  to  have  secured  no  sleep 
whatever.  ]  At  length,  however,  an  unconquerable 
drowsiness  and  illness  came  on,  which  left  him  help 
less  in  the  hands  of  the  crew.  Taking  advantage 
of  this  situation,  the  mariners  turned  the  ships 
toward  Isabella,  where  they  arrived,  after  an  absence 
of  more  than  five  months,  on  the  2gih  of  September. 
The  fruits  of  the  voyage  were  several  discoveries 
of  important  islands,  and  a  further  and  wider  knowl 
edge  of  the  characteristics  of  the  natives.  There 
was,  however,  no  clew  to  any  gold  mines  or  other  re 
sources  that  might  be  profitably  taken  back  to  Spain.) 
The  illness  of  Columbus  continued  during  five 
months  after  his  return  to  Isabella.  It  was  fortu 
nate  that  in  the  course  of  his  voyage  of  exploration 
the  colony  was  visited  by  his  brother  Bartholomew. 
But  affairs  were  in  a  sad  state  of  confusion.  During 
the  absence  of  the  Admiral,  everything  had  seemed 
to  contribute  to  a  general  disorganization.  This  un 
fortunate  state  of  the  colony  was  partly  owing  to 
a  very  injudicious  order  issued  by  Columbus,  and 


156  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

partly  to  the  unwise  methods  of  administration  that 
had  prevailed  during  his  absence. 

Columbus  before  going  away  had  ordered  the  mili 
tary  commander,  Margarite,  to  put  himself  at  the 
head  of  four  hundred  men  and  go  through  the 
country  for  the  twofold  purpose  of  obtaining  pro 
visions  and  of  impressing  upon  the  natives  a  further 
respect  for  Spanish  power.  Of  the  instructions  given 
there  were  only  two  provisions  that  seem  to  have 
been  important.  In  the  first  place,  they  were  to 
obtain  provisions,  —  by  purchase,  if  possible,  if  not,  by 
any  other  means ;  and  secondly,  they  were  to  cap 
ture,  either  by  force  or  artifice,  Caonabo  and  his 
brothers. 

Fernando  Columbus  tells  us  that  Margarite,  in 
stead  of  striving  to  overrun  and  reduce  the  island, 
took  his  soldiers  into  the  great  plain  known  as  the 
Royal  Vega,  and  there  gave  them  up  to  all  forms  of 
wanton  excesses.  But  he  soon  fell  into  disputes  with 
the  council  instituted  by  the  Admiral.  After  sending 
its  members  insolent  letters,  and  finding  that  he  could 
not  reduce  them  to  obedience,  he  went  aboard  one  of 
the  first  ships  that  came  from  Spain,  and  sailed  for 
home.  This  he  appears  to  have  done  without  giving 
any  account  of  himself,  or  leaving  any  direction  in  re 
gard  to  his  command.  "  Upon  this,"  says  Fernando, 
"  every  one  went  away  among  the  Indians  wherever  he 
thought  fit,  taking  away  their  goods  and  their  women, 
and  committing  such  outrages  that  the  Indians  re 
solved  to  be  revenged  on  those  they  found  alone  or 
straggling ;  so  that  the  cacique  had  killed  ten,  and 


THE  SECOND  VOYAGE.  157 

privately  ordered  a  house  to  be  fired  in  which  were 
eleven  sick."  The  same  authority  further  states  that 
"  Most  of  the  Christians  committed  a  thousand  inso 
lences,  for  which  they  were  mortally  hated  by  the 
Indians,  who  refused  to  submit  to  them." 

Such  was  the  condition  of  affairs  on  the  return  of 
Columbus.  All  was  in  such  confusion  that  the  very 
existence  of  the  colony  was  threatened  with  the  fate 
that  had  overtaken  La  Navidad ;  and  it  was  for  es 
sentially  the  same  cause.  The  weakness  of  Mar- 
garite  and  his  subsequent  desertion  of  his  command 
had  thrown  the  garrison  into  anarchy,. and  given  it 
up  to  the  unbridled  indulgence  of  the  most  provoking 
and  offensive  excesses.  Fernando  Columbus  him 
self  says  of  the  Indians  that  in  consequence  of  the 
"  thousand  insolences  "  of  the  Christians,  "  it  was  no 
difficult  matter  for  them  all  to  agree  to  cast  off  the 
Spanish  yoke."  That  the  provocation  was  chargeable 
to  the  Spaniards  is  admitted  both  by  Don  Fernando 
and  by  Las  Casas.  But  the  fact  that  the  invaders 
had  brought  this  threatening  condition  of  affairs  upon 
themselves  can  hardly  be  thought  to  have  lessened 
the  obligations  of  Columbus.  What  he  was  now 
confronted  with  was  a  condition,  not  a  theory  as  to 
how  that  condition  had  been  brought  about.  In 
order  to  save  the  colony  from  immediate  and  per 
haps  fatal  disaster,  he  was  obliged  to  act  without 
hesitation. 

While  Caonabo  was  threatening  the  garrison  at 
St,  Thomas,  another  of  the  caciques,  Gustignana  by 
name,  approached  with  a  large  force  to  within  two 


158  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

days'  march  of  Isabella.  It  is  even  said  that  his 
army  consisted  of  a  hundred  thousand  men.  Co 
lumbus  was  able  to  muster  a  hundred  and  sixty  Span 
ish  foot,  twenty  horsemen,  and  as  many  bloodhounds. 
The  force  was  divided  into  two  battalions,  one  being 
under  the  command  of  the  Admiral  himself,  and  the 
other  under  that  of  his  brother  Bartholomew.  The 
Spaniards  were  clad  in  armour,  while  the  natives  had 
only  their  naked  bodies  to  oppose  to  the  ferocity  of 
the  bloodhounds  and  the  cross-bows  and  musketry 
of  the  invaders.  At  the  first  onset  the  Indians  were 
thrown  into  confusion,  and  a  terrible  carnage  ensued. 
Vast  numbers  were  either  killed  outright  or  torn  by 
the  dogs ;  while  others,  perhaps  less  fortunate,  were 
taken  prisoners,  to  be  sent  to  Spain  as  slaves.  The 
force  of  the  Indians  was  completely  broken  up  and 
dispersed;  but  Caonabo,  who  was  besieging  St. 
Thomas,  was  still  at  large. 

This  Carib  chieftain  was  very  naturally  a  source  of 
great  anxiety  to  the  Admiral.  He  had  been  defeated 
by  Ojeda ;  but  he  was  still  at  the  head  of  a  formidable 
force,  and  his  own  intrepidity  and  skill  made  him 
a  constant  object  of  dread.  Columbus  determined 
to  secure  him  by  treachery.  Ojeda  was  selected  to 
carry  ofit  this  purpose;  and  the  instructions  given 
by  the  Admiral  were  base  and  treacherous  in  the 
extreme.  The  wily  Spanish  officer  was  to  beguile 
the  Indian  chieftain  to  a  friendly  interview  ;  and  thus, 
having  thrown  him  off  his  guard,  was  to  put  him  in 
irons  and  escape  with  him  to  the  Spanish  garrison. 
The  Admiral's  plan  was  carried  out. 


THE   SECOND   VOYAGE.  159 

The  accounts  of  this  ignoble  transaction,  as  given 
by  Las  Casas  and  the  later  historians  of  the  time, 
do  not  differ  in  essential  particulars,  though  there  are 
differences  in  unimportant  details.  The  authorities, 
moreover,  are  not  agreed  as  to  the  time  when  this 
daring  exploit  occurred.  Herrera  says  that  it  took 
place  before  the  great  battle,  almost  immediately 
after  the  return  of  Columbus  from  Cuba.  Attribut 
ing  the  design  to  the  Admiral,  this  historian  says, 
"  He  contrived  to  send  Alonzo  de  Ojeda  with  only 
nine  Spaniards,  under  colour  of  carrying  a  present." 
According  to  the  same  authority,  the  capture  took 
place  about  sixty  or  seventy  leagues  from  Isabella. 
Herrera's  account  is  graphic  and  circumstantial. 
Other  authorities  tell  us  that  it  was  the  last  act  re 
quired  to  reduce  the  island  into  subjection.  But  the 
precise  date  is  not  important.  Las  Casas,  who  vis 
ited  the  island  six  years  after  the  event  took  place, 
and  received  his  information  on  the  spot,  has  pre 
served  the  account  which  has  generally  been  followed 
by  the  subsequent  annalists  and  historians. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  understand  how  the  friendly 
relations  which  at  first  prevailed  between  the  Span 
iards  and  the  Indians  were  gradually  converted  into 
distrust,  and  finally  into  deadly  hostility.  For  this 
change  the  Spaniards  must  ever  be  held  responsible. 
All  the  original  accounts  agree  that  the  natives  of 
Hispaniola  were  remarkable  alike  for  their  gentle 
ness,  their  friendliness,  and  their  generosity,  and  that 
they  looked  upon  the  Spaniards  as  superior  beings 
that  had  descended  from  heaven.  The  son  of  the 


i6o  CHRISTOPHER   CO  LU At  BUS. 

Admiral  himself  tells  us  that  as  time  passed  on,  the 
Spaniards  were  guilty  of  "  a  thousand  insolences,  espe 
cially  to  the  Indian  women."  We  have  already  seen 
how  Columbus  sent  home  five  shiploads  of  inoffen 
sive  natives  of  Hispaniola  to  be  sold  in  the  Spanish 
markets. 

It  was  easy  now  for  the  invaders  to  go  one  step 
farther  in  this  process  of  subjugation.  The  capture 
of  Caonabo  had  removed  the  last  serious  obstacle 
to  a  complete  control  of  the  island.  Fernando 
tells  us  that  the  country  now  became  so  peaceable 
that  "  one  single  Christian  went  safely  wherever  he 
pleased."  Supreme  power  was  now  in  the  hand  of 
the  Admiral,  and  he  determined  to  make  use  of  it 
in  the  interest  of  that  great  object  of  his  expedition 
which  as  yet  had  been  completely  unsuccessful. 

In  order  that  the  call  for  gold  might  at  length  be 
gratified,  he  determined  to  impose  a  tribute  on  all 
the  population  of  the  island.  The  matter  was  thus 
provided  for :  Every  Indian  above  fourteen  years 
old  who  was  in  the  vicinity  of  the  mines  was  required 
to  pay  every  three  months  a  little  bellful  of  gold, 
and  to  take  for  it  a  brass  or  tin  token,  and  to  wear 
this  about  the  neck,  as  a  receipt  or  evidence  that 
payment  had  been  made.  All  persons  not  living  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  mines  were  every  three  months 
to  pay  twenty-five  pounds  of  cotton. 

When  this  order  was  issued,  the  natives  were 
thrown  into  something  like  despair.  They  asserted 
that  they  knew  not  how  to  collect  the  gold,  and  that 
the  gathering  of  so  large  an  amount  would  be  impos- 


THE  SECOND    VOYAGE.  161 

sible.  The  cacique  of  the  Royal  Vega  tried  to  per 
suade  the  Admiral  to  modify  the  order.  He  offered 
to  convert  the  whole  of  the  Royal  Vega,  stretching 
from  Isabella  to  the  sea  on  the  opposite  shore,  into 
a  huge  farm,  which  would  supply  the  whole  of  Castile 
with  bread,  on  condition  that  the  tribute  in  gold 
should  be  relaxed ;  but  Columbus  would  not  accept 
the  proposition,  as  he  wished  to  collect  such  objects 
of  value  as  he  could  take  back  to  Spain. 

It  was  found  impossible  to  enforce  the  require 
ments  imposed.  The  gold  in  requisite  amounts  could 
not  be  found.  Columbus  was  therefore  obliged  to 
modify  his  demands.  In  some  instances  the  amounts 
called  for  were  lessened ;  in  some  the  nature  of  the 
demand  was  modified ;  in  others  service  was  ac-  * 
cepted  in  place  of  tribute. 

As  time  passed  on,  it  was  found  that  personal  ser 
vice  was  the  only  form  of  tax  that  could  readily  be 
enforced ;    and,  accordingly,  more  and  more  the  na 
tives  were  driven  into  working  the  farms  of  the  Span 
ish  settlements.     As  early  as   1496  the  fields  of  the 
Spaniards  had  come  to  be  very  generally  tilled  and 
harvested  in  this  manner.     Out  of  this  form  of  taxa^] 
tion    grew    the    system    of    repartimientos,  or   enco-  I 
miendas,  as    they  were  afterward  called.       In  order  » 
to  enforce  the  payment  of  such  tributes  as  were  re 
quired,  four  forts  in  addition  to  those  of  Isabella  and 
St.  Thomas  were  built  and  equipped,  at  such  points 
as  would  give  most  complete  command  and  control 
of  the   island. 

It  requires  no  very  vivid  imagination  to  enable  one 


1 62  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

to  understand  the  desperate  situation  into  which  the 
natives  found  they  had  been  driven.  They  had  en 
joyed  a  roving  independence  and  that  ample  leisure 
which  is  so  dear  to  all  the  aboriginal  inhabitants 
of  the  tropics.  This  pleasant  life  was  now  at  an  end  ; 
the  yoke  of  servitude  was  fastened  upon  them,  and 
there  was  no  prospect  save  in  the  thraldom  of  per 
petual  slavery.  They  were  obliged  to  bend  their 
bodies  under  the  fervour  of  a  tropical  sun,  either  to 
raise  food  for  their  taskmasters,  or  to  sift  the  sands 
of  the  streams  for  the  shining  grains  of  gold.  Peter 
Martyr  relates,  with  an  unspeakable  pathos,  how  their 
sorrows  and  sufferings  wove  themselves  into  doleful 
songs  and  ballads,  and  how  with  plaintive  tunes  and 
1  mournful  voices  they  bewailed  the  servitude  into 
which  they  had  been  thrown. 

At  last  they  determined  to  avail  themselves  of  a 
most  desperate  remedy.  They  observed  how  entirely 
dependent  the  Spaniards  were  upon  such  food  as  was 
supplied  by  the  natives.  They  now  agreed,  by  a 
general  concert  of  action,  not  to  cultivate  the  articles 
of  food,  and  to  destroy  those  already  growing,  in 
order  by  famine  to  starve  the  strangers  or  drive  them 
from  the  island.  This  policy  was  carried  into  effect. 
They  abandoned  their  homes,  laid  waste  the  fields, 
and  withdrew  to  the  mountains,  where  they  hoped 
to  subsist  on  roots  and  herbs. 

Although  this  policy  produced  some  distress  among 
the  Spaniards,  still  they  had  the  resources  of  home ; 
and  it  is  certain  that  the  suffering  of  the  natives  even 
from  hunger  was  far  greater  than  was  the  suffering  of 


THE  SECOND   VOYAGE.  163 

the  invaders.  The  Spaniards  pursued  the  Indians  from 
one  retreat  to  another,  following  them  into  caverns, 
pursuing  them  into  thick  forests,  and  driving  them 
up  mountain  heights,  until,  worn  out  with  fatigue  and 
hunger,  the  wretched  creatures  gave  themselves  up 
without  conditions  to  the  mercy  of  their  pursuers. 
After  thousands  of  them  had  perished  miserably 
through  famine,  fatigue,  disease,  and  terror,  the  sur 
vivors  abandoned  all  opposition,  and  bent  their  necks 
despairingly  to  the  yoke. 

While  this  pitiful  state  of  affairs  was  taking  place 
on  the  island,  matters  of  equal  significance  and  inter 
est  were  occurring  in  Spain ;  and  it  is  now  necessary 
that  we  turn  our  attention  thither  in  order  to  under 
stand  the  meaning  of  that  disfavour  into  which 
Columbus  was  now  rapidly  drifting. 

Even  after  the  second  voyage  was  undertaken, 
there  were  not  a  few  who  ventured  to  declare  that 
Columbus  had  been  cruel  and  unjust  to  his  subor 
dinates,  and  that  the  assurances  and  promises  by 
means  of  which  the  second  fleet  had  been  fitted  out, 
were  such  as  never  could  be  fulfilled.  The  malcon 
tents  included  persons  high  in  royal  favour ;  and  even 
Fonseca,  who,  as  we  have  seen,  had  been  made  a 
special  minister  or  secretary  for  the  Indies,  looked 
upon  the  Admiral  with  distrust,  if  not  with  positive 
disfavour.  There  was  also  about  the  royal  court  a 
nucleus  of  opposition  consisting  of  members  of  the 
old  nobility,  who  saw  their  own  hereditary  significance 
completely  eclipsed  by  this  untitled  adventurer  from 
abroad.  Here,  then,  was  a  fertile  soil  ready  to  re- 


1 64  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS, 

ceive  any  seed  of  accusation  or  complaint  that  might 
be  brought  back  from  the  newly  discovered  lands. 
Such  accusations  and  complaints  were  not  long 
withheld. 

The  provisions  taken  out  on  the  second  voyage 
were  not  abundant  in  amount,  and  many  of  them,  as 
we  have  already  seen,  were  spoiled  or  injured  in  the 
course  of  the  passage.  On  reaching  Hispaniola,  and 
finding  that  the  colony  at  La  Navidad  had  perished, 
it  became  immediately  evident  that  new  supplies  must 
be  obtained.  The  Admiral  was  naturally  reluctant 
to  call  upon  the  Government  for  further  assistance. 
Although  such  a  course  was  found  to  be  absolutely 
necessary,  the  demand  was  made  as  small  as  possible, 
in  the  hope  that  a  large  portion  of  the  articles 
needed  could  be  either  raised  or  bought  on  the 
island.  In  the  interests  of  this  policy  the  most  rigor 
ous  methods  were  adopted  to  increase  the  productive 
force  of  the  colony.  In  the  building  of  Isabella,  and 
in  the  tilling  of  the  fields,  many  a  delicate  hand  that 
had  never  touched  an  implement  of  industry  was  now 
forced  into  manual  labour.  It  is  not  necessary  to  in 
quire  whether  Columbus  enforced  his  rule  with  impo 
litic  or  unnecessary  rigour.  It  is  certain,  however, 
that  discontents  became  rife,  that  these  soon  grew  to 
formidable  proportions  and  finally  ripened  into  a 
mutinous  determination  to  throw  off  the  Admiral's 
authority.  By  good  fortune,  Columbus  discovered 
the  mutinous  intent  before  the  final  outbreak;  but 
the  purpose  was  so  widespread,  and  embraced  within 
its  plans  so  many  of  the  officers  high  in  command, 


THE  SECOND    VOYAGE.  165 

that  he  felt  obliged,  not  only  to  put  the  leaders  in 
irons,  but  also  to  transfer  all  the  guns,  ammunition, 
and  naval  stores  to  his  own  ship.  Herrera  tells  us 
that  "  this  was  the  first  mutiny  that  occurred  in  the 
Indies,"  and  that  "  it  was  the  source  of  all  the  oppo 
sition  the  Admiral  and  his  successors  met  withal." 

But  the  suppression  of  the  mutiny  did  not  lessen 
the  discontents.  One  of  the  authorities  says  :  "  The 
better  sort  were  obliged  to  work,  which  was  as  bad  as 
death  to  them,  especially  having  little  to  eat."  The 
Admiral  had  recourse  to  force,  and  this  deepened  the 
ill-will.  One  of  the  priests,  Father  Boyle,  took  up 
the  cause 'of  the  malcontents,  and  was  loud  in  his 
accusations  of  cruelty.  Herrera  tells  us  that  so  many 
persons  of  distinction  died  of  starvation  and  sickness 
that,  long  after  Isabella  was  abandoned,  "  so  many 
dreadful  cries  were  heard  in  that  place  that  people 
durst  not  go  that  way." 

Another  cause  of  discontent  was  the  fact  that  Co 
lumbus  placed  so  great  authority  in  the  hands  of  his 
brothers.  Diego  Columbus  had  attended  the  Admi 
ral  on  his  second  voyage,  and  on  arriving  at  Hispa- 
niola,  was  made  second  in  command.  The  other 
brother,  Bartholomew,  reached  the  colony  while  the 
Admiral  was  exploring  Cuba  and  Jamaica.  Far  abler 
and  wiser  than  Diego,  Bartholomew  was  at  once, 
on  the  return  of  the  Admiral,  raised  to  the  rank  of 
Adelantado,  or  Lieutenant-Governor.  Bartholomew 
is  described  as  "  somewhat  harsh  in  his  temper,  very 
brave  and  free,  for  which  some  hated  him."  The 
Spanish  hidalgos  always  looked  upon  Columbus  as 


1 66  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS. 

a  foreigner,  and  the  favour  he  showed  his  brothers 
only  tended  to  deepen  their  discontents  and  multiply 
their  complaints. 

Added  to  all  other  sources  of  dissatisfaction  was 
the  most  potent  fact  of  all,  —  that  the  amount  of  gold 
sent  home  as  compared  with  what  had  been  promised, 
was  doubtful  in  quality  and  insignificant  in  amount. 
Indeed,  the  first  assayer  who  accompanied  the  expe 
dition  even  declared  that  the  metal  discovered  was 
not  gold,  but  only  a  base  imitation. 

Such  were  the  grounds  of  ill-feeling  in  the  colony, 
and  from  time  to  time  they  were  reported  to  friends 
in  the  mother-country.  We  have  already  seen  how 
Don  Pedro  Margarita,  when  reproached  by  the  council 
for  not  restraining  the  license  of  his  soldiery,  ignomin- 
iously  threw  down  his  command  and  sailed  for  home. 
Scarcely  less  important  was  the  report  carried  home 
by  Father  Boyle,  whose  access  to  the  spiritual  advisers 
of  the  king  and  queen  gave  him  peculiar  facilities 
for  poisoning  the  royal  minds.  Thus  it  was  that 
complaints  of  every  kind  found  ears  that  welcomed 
them.  Herrera  assures  us  concerning  Don  Margarite 
and  Father  Boyle  that  "  being  come  to  the  court, 
they  gave  an  account  that  there  was  no  gold  in  the 
Indies,  and  that  all  the  Admiral  said  was  mere  sham 
and  banter." 

The  complaints  at  length  became  so  numerous  and 
so  circumstantial  that  the  monarchs  felt  obliged  to 
institute  a  formal  and  responsible  inquiry.  The  offi 
cer  chosen  for  this  service  was  Don  John  Agnado,  a 
groom  of  the  bedchamber,  who  had  accompanied 


THE  SECOND    VOYAGE.  167 

Columbus  on  his  first  voyage,  and  had  acquitted  him 
self  with  so  much  credit  that  the  Admiral  had  espe 
cially  recommended  his  promotion.  The  appoint 
ment  was  apparently  an  excellent  one,  and  one  that 
would  commend  itself  to  the  favour  of  Columbus. 
Agnado,  armed  with  credentials  giving  him  ample 
authority,  took  four  ships  laden  with  provisions  and 
sailed  for  the  colonies,  where  he  arrived  in  October, 

1495- 

When   the   commissioner   reached    Hispaniola,   he 

found  that  the  Admiral  was  engaged  in  his  campaign 
against  the  brothers  of  Caonabo.  The  garrison  at 
Isabella  was  in  charge  of  the  Adelantado.  Don 
Agnado  at  once  made  known  his  extraordinary  power 
and  authority  by  reproving  some  of  the  ministers  and 
seizing  others.  After  showing  that  he  had  no  respect 
for  the  authority  of  Don  Bartholomew,  he  put  himself 
at  the  head  of  a  troop  of  horse  and  foot,  and  began 
an  advance  into  the  interior  for  the  purpose  of  going 
to  the  Admiral.  This  course  had  the  natural  effect 
on  the  garrison  and  on  the  islanders.  The  supposi 
tion  became  general  that  a  new  governor  had  been 
appointed,  and  that  he  was  about  to  seize  his  prede 
cessor  and  perhaps  even  put  him  to  death.  The 
smothered  discontents  now  burst  forth  into  flames. 
Those  who  fancied  themselves  aggrieved  by  the  rigour 
of  the  Admiral's  rule,  those  who  had  found  the  life  of 
adventure  only  a  life  of  hardship,  those  who  com 
plained  either  of  the  wars  or  of  the  tribute,  all  the 
malcontents  of  every  race  and  kind,  now  hastened  to 
greet  the  new  governor  and  to  denounce  the  old. 


1 68  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

It  was  immediately  evident  that  the  authority  of 
Columbus  was  in  peril.  On  learning  of  the  arrival  of 
Don  Agnado,  he  determined  to  return  to  Isabella,  and 
there  welcome  the  commissioner  with  the  formality 
that  was  due  to  his  royal  errand.  Accordingly,  he 
received  the  letter  of  their  Royal  Highnesses  with  the 
sound  of  trumpets  and  with  the  greatest  solemnity. 
But  all  this  ceremony  only  seemed  to  add  to  the  force 
of  the  commission  itself.  The  authority  of  Don 
Agnado  was  vouched  for  by  the  following  letter  of  the 
king  and  queen  :  — 

"  Cavaliers,  esquires,  and  other  persons  who  by  our 
command  are  in  the  Indies:  We  send  you  thither  Juan 
Agnado,  our  Gentleman  of  the  Chamber,  who  will  speak 
to  you  on  our  part.  We  command  that  you  give  him  faith 
and  credence." 

The  manner  in  which  Agnado  began  to  pursue  his 
inquiries  must  have  convinced  Columbus  that  the  tide 
of  his  fortune  was  turning.  It  became  evident  that 
the  reports  of  Margarite  and  Boyle  had  poisoned  pub 
lic  opinion  about  the  court.  The  inquiries,  more 
over,  produced  a  disquieting  effect  upon  the  natives. 
A  number  of  caciques  met  at  the  headquarters  of  one 
of  them,  and  determined  to  formulate  their  complaints 
of  the  Admiral  and  to  pledge  their  loyalty  to  his  suc 
cessor.  Columbus  knew  well  that  these  facts  would 
be  duly  reported  by  the  commissioner.  He  deter 
mined,  therefore,  at  once  to  return  to  Spain,  in  order 
to  represent  his  own  cause  at  court. 

There  was  another  reason  why  Columbus  desired  to 
appear  before  the  sovereigns.  By  the  royal  charter 


THE  SECOArD    VOYAGE.  169 

given  before  the  first  voyage,  he  was  to  be  viceroy  of  all 
the  lands  he  might  discover,  and  was  to  have  control 
of  all  matters  of  trade  and  immigration.  But  now 
Fonseca  had  violated  this  provision  of  the  charter,  by 
giving  a  number  of  licenses  to  private  adventurers  to 
trade  in  the  new  countries,  independently  of  the  Ad 
miral.  Columbus  saw  the  evil  that  was  impending, 
and  desired  to  protest  against  the  issue  of  such 
licenses. 

The  Admiral's  departure,  however,  was  delayed  by 
one  of  those  terrible  hurricanes  which  sometimes 
sweep  across  the  West  Indies.  The  four  vessels 
brought  by  Don  Agnado  sank  in  the  harbour,  and 
there  were  remaining  only  the  two  caravels  belong 
ing  to  the  Admiral.  There  was  some  further  delay, 
moreover,  by  the  report  that  rich  gold  mines  had 
been  discovered  near  the  southern  coast.  Investi 
gations  seemed  to  authenticate  the  report.  The  Ad 
miral  thought  it  best  to  establish  a  strong  post  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  mine,  and  so  a  fort  was  built  which 
received  the  name  of  Saint  Christopher. 

In  the  course  of  the  winter  months  the  other  forts 
were  put  in  a  condition  to  make  a  strong  resistance 
in  case  of  revolt  during  the  Admiral's  absence.  It 
was  the  loth  of  March,  1496,  before  he  was  ready  to 
sail.  The  Adelantado  was  left  in  command  at  Isa 
bella.  The  Admiral  sailed  on  board  the  "  Nina,"  while 
Agnado  took  passage  on  the  other  caravel.  More 
than  two  hundred  of  the  colonists  returned  with  the 
Admiral,  —  some  of  them  broken  in  health,  some  of 
them  merely  sick  at  heart. 


1 70  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

The  voyage  was  one  of  numerous  delays.  A  few 
days  were  spent  in  coasting  along  the  Caribbean  is 
lands  j  but  even  after  they  were  well  at  sea,  contrary 
winds  prevailed  and  very  slow  progress  was  made. 
Provisions  finally  ran  so  low  that  they  had  to  be  doled 
out  in  pittances,  and  it  is  said  that  all  the  Admiral's 
authority  was  needed  to  prevent  the  ship's  company 
from  killing  and  eating  the  Carib  prisoners  who  were 
on  board.  It  was  only  after  a  voyage  of  three  months' 
duration  that  the  ships  put  into  the  Bay  of  Cadiz  on 
the  nth  of  June,  1496. 


THE    THIRD  VOYAGE. 


CHAPTER   V. 

THE    THIRD    VOYAGE. 

THE  circumstances  attending  the  disembarking  of 
Columbus  on  his  return  after  the  second  voyage  were 
of  a  nature  to  emphasize  rather  than  allay  the  popular 
opinion  that  had  been  aroused  against  him.  Three 
years  before,  the  expedition  had  gone  out  with  the 
most  joyous  anticipations.  Representatives  of  noble 
and  gentle  families  had  begged  the  privilege  of  going 
in  the  hope  of  easily  finding  either  renown  or  fortune. 
All  these  expectations  had  been  disappointed.  A 
large  proportion  of  those  who  had  gone  out  had  lost 
their  lives  ;  many  others  remained  to  battle  still  longer 
with  poverty,  and  perhaps  even  with  hunger ;  while 
the  two  hundred  or  more  wretched  creatures  who  now 
"  crawled  out  of  the  ships  "  told  their  tales  of  disas 
trous  experience  to  the  eyes  as  well  as  to  the  ears  of 
the  people.  It  is  related  that  Columbus  himself  was 
unshaven,  and  that  he  was  clad  with  the  robe  and 
girdled  with  the  cord  of  the  Franciscans. 

On  arriving  at  the  port  of  Cadiz,  the  Admiral  found 
three  caravels  on  the  point  of  sailing  with  provisions 
for  the  colony.  Seeking  an  interview  with  the  com 
mander,  he  learned  much  in  regard  to  the  state  of 


172  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

feeling  that  awaited  him.  In  view  of  this  information, 
he  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Adelantado,  not  only  to  ap 
prise  him  of  his  own  safe  arrival,  but  also  to  urge  him 
to  endeavour  by  every  possible  means  to  bring  the 
island  into  a  peaceful  and  productive  condition.  He 
urged  his  brother  to  appease  all  discontents  and  com 
motions,  and  to  use  the  utmost  diligence  in  explor 
ing  and  working  the  mines  that  had  recently  been 
discovered. 

As  soon  as  tidings  of  his  arrival  reached  the  sov 
ereigns,  they  sent  Columbus  a  letter  congratulating 
him  on  his  safe  return,  and  inviting  him  to  court. 
Accordingly,  he  at  once  made  all  necessary  prepara 
tions  to  go  to  Almazan,  where  the  court  was  at  that 
time  established.  Desiring  to  keep  alive  an  interest 
in  his  discoveries,  he  made  a  studious  display  of  the 
curiosities  and  treasures  he  had  brought  with  him. 
As  at  the  end  of  the  first  voyage,  the  people  along 
the  way  showed  great  interest  in  the  natives  and  in 
the  products  of  the  new  islands. 

The  king  and  queen,  though  temporarily  absent, 
soon  returned  to  Almazan,  and  gave  him  a  gracious 
reception.  It  was  evident  that  however  much  of  ad 
verse  criticism  they  may  have  heard,  they  were  dis 
posed  to  hold  in  strict  reserve  any  questionings  they 
may  have  had  in  regard  to  the  general  wisdom  of  his 
administrative  methods. 

Columbus  gave  a  full  account  of  his  explorations 
in  Cuba,  and  dwelt  in  detail  upon  the  promises  held 
forth  by  the  gold  mines  recently  discovered.  If 
we  may  judge  from  its  immediate  consequences,  we 


THE    THIRD    VOYAGE.  173 

must  infer  that  the  report  made  a  favourable  and  deep 
impression. 

The  sovereigns  even  went  so  far  as  to  give  special 
and  exceptional  evidence  of  their  approval.  In  April 
of  1497  they  confirmed  anew  the  commissions  and 
hereditary  privileges  granted  before  the  first  voyage ; 
they  confirmed  and  even  made  hereditary  the  ap 
pointment  of  Bartholomew  Columbus  to  the  office  of 
Adelantado,  which  at  first  had  been  criticised  as  an 
undue  exercise  of  authority  by  the  Admiral ;  they 
promised  to  comply  with  his  request  for  eight  ships 
with  which  to  complete  his  explorations  and  annex 
the  mainland  to  their  dominions.  A  little  later  the 
queen  also  appointed  his  son  Fernando  as  a  page. 

Other  favours  of  a  less  personal  nature  were  also 
freely  granted.  It  was  determined  that  there  should 
be  sent  out  on  the  new  fleet  three  hundred  and  thirty 
men  in  the  pay  of  the  sovereigns.  Others  might  be 
enlisted  by  the  Admiral,  on  condition  that  their  pay 
could  be  provided  for  in  some  other  way.  Those 
who  volunteered  to  go  without  pay  were  to  receive  a 
third  part  of  the  gold  they  might  get  out  of  the  mines, 
and  nine  tenths  of  all  other  products.  The  residue 
in  both  cases  was  to  be  turned  over  to  the  royal 
officers.  The  Admiral  also  obtained  the  privilege  of 
transporting  all  criminals  to  the  Indies,  to  serve  there 
for  a  number  of  years.  This  exceedingly  unwise  and 
unfortunate  provision,  putting,  as  it  did,  the  stamp  of 
ignominy  upon  service  in  the  colony,  exerted  a  per 
nicious  influence,  not  only  in  preventing  enlistments, 
but  also  in  demoralizing  future  life  in  the  colonies. 


174  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

These  favours  and  promises  by  the  sovereigns  were 
more  than  Columbus  had  dared  even  to  hope  for. 
But  notwithstanding  the  kind,  if  not  the  enthusiastic, 
favour  of  the  sovereigns,  the  promises  were  not  speedily 
to  be  fulfilled.  There  were  several  reasons  why  the 
furnishing  of  the  ships  was  a  matter  of  most  annoying 
delay.  During  the  long  months  of  waiting,  Columbus 
was  under  the  roof  of  Andres  Bernaldez,  who  turned 
to  account  many  of  his  interviews  with  the  Admiral  in 
his  History  of  the  Spanish  Kings.  Columbus  left  with 
Bernaldez  several  important  documents  which  the 
historian  made  the  basis  of  much  of  his  History.  It 
is  from  Bernaldez  that  we  get  the  most  definite  ac 
count  of  the  temper  and  opposition  of  the  people, 
as  well  as  the  grounds  of  their  discontent.  The 
whole  may  be  expressed  in  the  single  word  "  disap 
pointment."  The  cost  of  the  expeditions  had  been 
very  great,  and  the  returns  very  small.  A  tradition  has 
assumed  the  form  of  a  popular  belief  that  the  gold 
brought  back  to  Spain  by  this  second  expedition  was 
so  abundant  that  it  was  used  to  ornament  palaces  and 
gild  cathedrals.  But  this  belief  must  be  discarded ; 
for  we  learn  from  Bernaldez  that  the  gold  brought 
back  consisted  mainly  of  personal  ornaments. 

There  were  several  causes  for  delay  in  fitting  out 
the  third  expedition.  Spain  was  now  at  war  with 
France  in  regard  to  that  vexed  question  which  in 
volved  the  suzerainty  of  Naples.  Besides  a  powerful 
army  in  Italy  under  Gonzalo  de  Cordova,  Spain  was 
obliged  to  keep  an  army  on  her  own  frontier,  which 
was  threatened  with  an  invasion  from  France.  A 


OF 

THE    THIRD   V^^G^Q^^/    1 75 

strong  fleet  had  to  be  kept  in  the  Mediterranean,  and 
another  was  called  for  to  defend  the  Atlantic  coasts 
of  the  Spanish  peninsula.  But  even  these  were  not 
all.  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  if  not  far-seeing,  were 
far-reaching  in  their  ambition  to  extend  their  interna 
tional  importance  by  judicious  matrimonial  alliances 
of  their  children.  This  was  to  be  done,  not  simply 
by  the  marringe  of  Catherine  of  Aragon  with  Prince 
Henry  of  England,  but  also  by  the  far  more  important 
double  alliance  with  Austria.  The  arrangements  for 
the  Austrian  nuptials  were  now  complete,  and  a  mag 
nificent  armada  of  a  hundred  and  twenty  ships,  with 
twenty  thousand  persons  on  board,  had  been  sent  as  a 
convoy  of  the  Princess  Juana  to  Flanders,  where  she 
was  to  marry  Philip,  the  archduke  of  Austria,  and 
bring  back  the  Austrian  Princess  Margarita,  who  was 
to  complete  the  double  Austrian  alliance  by  marrying 
Prince  Juan. 

These  several  demands  quite  exhausted  the  mari 
time  resources  of  the  Spanish  Government.  Delay 
therefore  in  the  equipment  of  ships  for  the  third 
expedition  of  Columbus  was  inevitable.  But  there 
were  also  other  reasons  that  emphasized  and  rein 
forced  the  same  tendencies.  The  affairs  of  the  In 
dian  Office,  after  once  having  been  sequestered,  had 
now  been  restored  to  the  control  of  Fonseca.  For  a 
time  they  had  been  transferred  to  the  direction  of 
Antonio  de  Torres ;  but  in  consequence  of  high  and 
unreasonable  demands,  he  had  been  removed  from 
office,  and  Fonseca,  the  Bishop  of  Badajoz,  had  been 
reinstated.  Fonseca  had  never  been  actively  helpful 


176  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

to  Columbus,  and  as  time  had  passed  on,  what  at  first 
had  an  air  of  indifference,  gradually  changed  to 
ill-concealed  enmity.  In  the  position  to  which  he 
had  now  been  reinstated  it  was  easy  for  him  to  im 
pede,  if  not  frustrate,  all  the  navigator's  plans.  The 
delay  became  intolerable.  In  the  spring  of  1498, 
Columbus,  after  nearly  two  years  had  elapsed  since 
his  second  return,  presented  a  direct  appeal  to  the 
queen,  making  urgent  representations  of  the  misery 
to  which  the  colonists  had  been  reduced.  The  ap 
peal  was  successful ;  two  ships  with  supplies  for  the 
colony  were  despatched  early  in  February,  1498. 

The  fitting-out  of  the  vessels  that  were  to  be  com 
manded  by  Columbus  himself  was  retarded  by  many 
very  annoying  conditions.  Fonseca  seemed  deter 
mined  to  throw  every  obstacle  in  his  way.  It  was 
everywhere  evident,  moreover,  that  the  popular  favour 
in  which  the  Admiral  had  been  more  or  less  generally 
held  was  fast  slipping  away.  At  one  time  he  thought 
of  abandoning  the  enterprise  altogether ;  and  in  one 
of  his  letters  he  intimates  that  he  was  restrained 
from  doing  so  only  by  his  unwillingness  to  disoblige 
or  disappoint  the  queen. 

Of  the  various  annoyances  that  occurred,  there 
were  two  that  are  worthy  of  note.  The  sovereigns 
ordered  six  million  maravedis  to  be  set  apart  for  the 
equipment  of  the  new  expedition.  But  soon  after 
the  arrival  of  the  three  caravels  of  slaves  in  the 
autumn  of  1495,  word  was  circulated  that  the  fleet 
was  freighted  with  ban  of  gold.  The  report  had  so 
much  influence  on  the  sovereigns  that  they  revoked 


THE    THIRD    VOYAGE.  177 

their  order  for  six  million  maravedis,  and  directed 
that  the  necessary  money  for  the  new  expedition 
should  be  taken  from  the  gold  brought  home.  What 
was  the  chagrin  of  Columbus  and  of  all  his  friends 
to  find  that  what  was  only  a  wretched  joke  of  one 
of  the  ship's  commanders  had  been  taken  in  seri 
ous  earnest  even  by  Ferdinand  and  Isabella.  When 
the  truth  came  to  be  known,  it  was  found  that  the 
bars  of  gold  were  only  slaves  kept  behind  bars,  with 
the  design  of  converting  them  into  gold  in  the 
market  of  Seville.  It  is  not  difficult  to  imagine  the 
indignation  of  Isabella  when  the  truth  came  to  be 
known.  The  other  affair  alluded  to  was  the  per 
sonal  altercation  that  occurred  between  Columbus 
and  Breviesca,  the  treasurer  of  Fonseca.  The  very 
day  when  the  squadron  was  about  to  embark,  Colum 
bus  was  assailed  in  so  insolent  a  manner  by  this  offi 
cial  that  he  lost  his  self-control,  and  not  only  struck 
his  accuser  to  the  ground,  but  kicked  him  in  his 
paroxysm  of  rage.  As  to  the  extent  of  the  provoca 
tion,  Las  Casas,  who  relates  the  anecdote,  leaves  us 
in  doubt ;  but  the  influence  of  such  a  spectacle  could 
hardly  have  been  favourable  to  the  Admiral. 

It  was  the  3Oth  day  of  May,  1498,  before  the  expe 
dition  was  ready  to  sail.  The  fleet,  consisting  of  six 
ships  loaded  with  provisions  and  other  necessaries  for 
the  planters  in  Hispaniola,  was  detained  at  the  Ca 
nary  and  Cape  de  Verde  islands  until  the  5th  of  July. 
From  the  island  of  Ferro  Columbus  decided  to  send 
three  of  the  vessels  to  Hispaniola,  and  to  sail  in  a  more 
southerly  direction  with  the  rest,  for  the  purpose  of 


178  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS, 

making  further  discoveries.  He  designed  to  make  the 
course  southwest  until  they  should  reach  the  equinoc 
tial  line,  and  then  to  take  a  course  due  west.  But  the 
currents  flowed  so  strongly  toward  the  north,  and  the 
heat  was  so  severe,  that  this  purpose  was  abandoned 
before  they  reached  the  equator.  Fernando,  with  char 
acteristic  exaggeration,  says  that  "  had  it  not  rained 
sometimes,  and  the  sun  been  clouded,  he  thought 
they  would  have  been  burned  alive,  together  with  the 
ships,  for  the  heat  was  so  violent  that  nothing  could 
withstand  it."  Las  Casas,  who  had  other  sources  of 
authentic  information  besides  the  narrative  of  Colum 
bus,  declares  that  but  for  this  heat  and  the  fact  that 
the  vessels  were  becalmed  eight  days,  the  Admiral 
would  have  taken  a  course  so  far  to  the  south  that 
the  fleet  would  have  been  carried  to  the  coast  of 
Brazil.  Be  this  as  it  may,  the  effect  of  the  tempera 
ture  on  the  men  and  on  the  provisions  was  such  that 
on  the  last  day  of  July  the  Admiral,  thinking  they 
were  now  south  of  the  Caribbean  islands,  resolved  to 
abandon  their  course  and  make  for  Hispaniola.  Sail 
ing  toward  the  northwest  one  day,  the  man  at  the 
lookout  descried  land  to  the  westward,  which,  because 
of  the  three  mountains  that  arose  above  the  horizon, 
Columbus  called  Trinidad.  This  discovery  led  to  a 
little  delay.  Cruising  about  the  island  for  a  consider 
able  time  without  finding  a  harbour,  he  came  to  deep 
soundings  near  Point  Alcatraz,  where  he  decided  to 
take  in  water  and  make  such  repairs  as  the  shrinkage 
of  the  timbers  had  made  necessary.  From  the  point 
where  they  now  were,  the  low  lands  about  the  mouth 


THE    THIRD    VOYAGE.  179 

of  the  Orinoco  were  plainly  visible ;  and  the  inci 
dent  is  memorable  because,  notwithstanding  the  asser 
tion  of  Oviedo  that  Vespucius  anticipated  Columbus 
in  reaching  the  mainland,  it  was  probably  here  that 
the  Spaniards  obtained  the  first  sight  of  the  western 
continent.  It  was  on  the  ist  day  of  August,  1498, — 
two  months  and  ten  days  after  Vasco  da  Gama  had 
cast  anchor  in  the  bay  of  Calicut. 

After  necessary  delays  the  little  fleet  resumed  its 
westerly  course.  Although  in  his  letter  to  the  Span 
ish  court,  the  Admiral  gives  a  graphic  account  of 
the  rush  of  waters  from  the  Orinoco,  he  seems  not 
at  first  to  have  suspected  that  he  was  in  sight  of 
the  mainland.  The  waters  delivered  to  the  ocean 
by  this  river  came  with  such  impetuous  force  that 
they  seemed  to  produce  a  ridge  along  the  top  of 
which  the  squadron  was  borne  at  a  furious  rate  into  the 
Gulf  of  Paria.  "  Even  to-day,"  wrote  Columbus,  "  I 
shudder  lest  the  waters  should  have  upset  the  vessel 
when  they  came  under  its  bows."  We  now  know 
that  the  tumult  "of  the  waters  was  very  largely  the 
result  of  the  African  current  wedging  in  between 
the  island  of  Trinidad  and  the  mainland,  and  form 
ing  that  stupendous  flow  which  on  emerging  from  the 
Caribbean  Sea  is  known  as  the  Gulf  Stream. 

In  sailing  along  the  coast  the  Admiral  met  with 
nothing  but  friendly  treatment  from  the  natives. 
The  region  at  the  left  of  the  Gulf  of  Paria  he  called 
Gracia.  At  length  the  immense  volume  of  waters 
passing  through  the  mouths  of  the  Orinoco  led  him 
to  surmise  \that  the  land  he  had  been  calling  an  island 


i8o  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

was  in  fact  the  continent.  Holding  this  conjecture 
with  increasing  confidence,  he  was  unwilling  to  give 
any  considerable  time  to  further  exploration ;  and 
accordingly,  after  passing  through  what  he  called 
the  Boca  del  Drago,  or  Dragon's  Mouth,  he  sailed 
directly  for  Hispaniola.  His  departure  was  hastened 
by  the  desire,  not  only  of  landing  the  stores  he  had 
in  charge,  but  also  of  learning  the  truth  in  regard  to 
the  reports  of  disturbance  among  the  colonists  that 
had  reached  Spain  before  his  embarkation. 

Before  following  him,  however,  to  the  unhappy 
colony,  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  make  note  of  a 
few  of  his  reflections,  as  recorded  in  his  own  words. 
There  is  nothing  in  the  life  of  Columbus  more  in 
teresting  than  his  letter  to  the  court  describing  this 
third  voyage,  and  commenting  on  the  various  phe 
nomena  which  he  observed.  The  minute  and  inge 
nious  details  of  this  letter  not  only  show  how  easily  he 
was  captivated  by  delusions,  but  they  also  throw  a 
flood  of  light  on  his  general  habit  of  mind.  It  is 
impossible  to  quote  the  letter  at  length,  but  a  few 
of  his  conclusions  may  not  be  omitted. 

In  remarking  that  Ptolemy  and  all  the  other  ancient 
writers  regarded  the  earth  as  spherical,  he  says  that 
they  had  had  no  opportunity  of  observing  the  region 
he  was  now  exploring,  and  that  in  consequence 
they  had  fallen  into  error.  To  his  mind  it  was  clear 
that  the  form  of  the  earth  was  not  globular,  but  pear- 
shaped,  and  that  the  form  of  a  pear  about  the  stem 
was  the  form  of  the  earth  in  the  region  he  had  dis 
covered.  He  had  at  all  times  noted  a  marked  change 


THE    THJKD    VOYAGE.  181 

in  the  temperature  on  crossing  the  one  hundredth 
meridian.  The  north  star  also  perceptibly  changed 
its  relative  position  in  regard  to  the  horizon  at  this 
point.  The  deflection  of  the  needle  here  changed  from 
five  degrees  to  the  east  to  as  many  degrees  to  the  west. 
The  waters  of  the  great  river  flowing  into  the  Gulf  of 
Paria  could  hardly  come  with  a  tumultuous  volume  for 
any  other  reason.  As  they  sailed  away  from  this  re 
gion,  they  were  so  rapidly  descending  that  they  easily 
made  sixty-five  leagues  in  a  day,  which  they  could 
hardly  have  done  on  an  ascending  or  a  level  sea. 

It  was  his  opinion,  moreover,  derived  from  numer 
ous  considerations,  that  the  point  at  the  stem  of  the 
pear  represented  the  garden  of  Paradise.  "I  do  not 
suppose,"  he  writes,  "  that  the  earthly  Paradise  is  in 
the  form  of  a  rugged  mountain,  as  the  descriptions 
of  it  have  made  it  appear,  but  that  it  is  on  the  sum 
mit  of  the  spot  which  I  have  described  as  being  in 
the  form  of  the  neck  of  a  pear.  The  approach  to 
it  from  a  distance  must  be  by  a  constant  and  gradual 
ascent;  but  I  believe  that,  as  I  have  already  said,  no 
one  could  ever  reach  the  top.  I  think  also  that  the 
water  I  have  described  may  proceed  from  it,  though 
it  be  far  off,  and  that  stopping  at  the  place  I  have  just 
left,  it  forms  this  lake."  He  further  states:  "There 
are  great  indications  of  this  being  the  terrestrial  para 
dise,  for  its  site  coincides  with  the  opinion  of  the 
holy  and  wise  theologians  whom  I  have  mentioned." 

The  speculations  of  Columbus  in  regard  to  the 
currents  of  the  ocean  and  their  effects  on  the  shape 
of  the  islands  are  interesting ;  but  they  are  important 


182  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS. 

only  as  revealing  the  observing  and  generalizing  habit 
of  his  mind.  His  remarks  on  the  characteristics  of 
the  natives  are  more  important.  Their  superior  in 
telligence  and  courage,  as  well  as  their  lighter  colour, 
and  even  their  long,  smooth  hair,  he  attributes  to  the 
mildness  of  the  climate,  occasioned  by  the  altitude  of 
this  portion  of  the  pear-shaped  earth. 

Resuming  the  general  course  of  his  voyage  toward 
the  northwest,  after  pausing  for  a  time  at  Margarita 
he  arrived  at  the  harbour  of  San  Domingo  on  the 
3Oth  of  August,  1^8. 

In  order  to  understand  the  condition  of  affairs  on 
the  arrival  of  the  Admiral,  it  is  necessary  to  call  atten 
tion  briefly  to  the  history  of  the  island  during  the  two 
years  of  his  absence. 

We  find  that  early  in  the  administration  of  the 
Adelantado  he  sent  to  Spain  three  hundred  slaves 
from  Hispaniola.  As  these  were  represented  as  hav 
ing  been  taken  while  they  were  killing  Christians,  this 
disposition  of  them  seems  not  to  have  met  with  any 
insurmountable  disfavour.  Indeed,  the  sovereigns  had 
given  orders  that  all  those  who  should  be  found  guilty 
should  be  sent  to  Spain.  The  way  was  thus  opened 
for  an  iniquitous  traffic  by  a  royal  order  that  simply 
provided  for  an  inevitable  flexibility  of  interpretation 
under  an  imperfect  administration  of  justice.  There 
was  no  reason  to  anticipate  that  there  would  in  the 
future  be  any  insurmountable  obstacle  to  a  profitable 
exercise  of  the  trade  in  slaves.  Human  nature,  as  it 
revealed  itself  in  the  fifteenth  century,  might  well  be 
trusted  to  find  the  means. 


THE    THIRD   VOYAGE.  183 

The  order,  already  alluded  to,  authorizing  judges 
to  transport  criminals  to  the  Indies,  had  already  begun 
to  exert  its  baleful  influence  ;  and  a  still  more  per 
nicious  result  came  from  the  further  edict  giving  an 
indulgence  to  such  criminals  as  should  go  out  at  their 
own  expense  and  serve  under  the  Admiral.  The  pro 
visions  of  this  edict,  which  must  have  been  recom 
mended  by  Columbus  himself,  could  hardly  have 
been  more  ingeniously  framed  for  the  purpose  of 
bringing  the  greatest  harm  to  the  colony.  They 
not  only  made  all  labour  disreputable,  but  they  drew 
into  the  colonies  the  worst  classes  of  criminals. 
Those  to  whom  an  indulgence  was  most  desirable, 
were  the  very  men  who  had  committed  the  most 
flagrant  crimes  ;  and  these  were  the  persons  that  most 
eagerly  accepted  the  opportunity.  Three  years  later, 
when  Columbus  was  under  accusation,  he  excused 
the  acts  complained  of  by  referring  to  the  badness  of 
the  men  who  were  allowed  to  go  out  under  this  edict ; 
but  he  did  not  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  edict 
was  one  which  he  himself  had  recommended.  Of 
these  he  said,  with  unwonted  emphasis  :  "  I  swear 
that  numbers  of  men  have  gone  to  the  Indies  who 
did  not  deserve  water  from  God  or  man."  The  col 
ony  as  made  up  in  1493  was  not  of  a  nature  to  bear 
with  impunity  such  an  influx  of  rascality. 

Another  royal  order  that  contributed  not  a  little  to 
the  "future  turbulence  of  the  islands  was  the  one 
which  provided  for  what  are  known  as  the  reparti- 
mientos.  This  edict  was  also  issued  in  1497,  and  it 
authorized  the  Admiral  to  give  in  the  most  formal 


184  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

way  any  of  the  lands  discovered  to  any  Spaniard,  with 
all  rights  "  to  hold,  to  sell,  to  traffic  with,  and  to 
alienate  and  to  do  with  it  and  in  it  all  that  he  likes 
or  may  think  good." 

Here,  then,  was  introduced  an  ingenious  instru 
ment  of  interminable  discord.  The  ill  effects  of 
these  several  edicts  were  not  mitigated  by  the  meth 
ods  of  government  pursued  by  the  Adelantado  ;  but, 
on  the  contrary,  Don  -Bartholomew  was  so  unwise  as 
to  contribute  in  many  ways  to  the  prevailing  dissatis 
faction  and  turbulence. 

Before  the  Admiral  had  sailed  for  home,  as  we 
have  already  seen,  gold  mines  had  been  discovered 
near  the  southern  coast  of  the  island.  He  had 
promptly  reported  the  discovery  and  had  recom 
mended  the  opening  of  the  mines  and  the  estab 
lishment  of  a  port  at  no  remote  distance.  The 
recommendations  were  favorably  received  by  the 
monarchs,  and  the  captain  of  the  fleet  which  Colum 
bus  met  as  he  was  entering  the  bay  of  Cadiz  was 
the  bearer  of  the  letter  of  approval.  The  Admiral, 
on  receiving  this  letter,  at  once  wrote  to  his  brother, 
ordering  him  to  begin  work  at  once  to  carry  out  the 
royal  pleasure  in  regard  to  the  mines  and  the  estab 
lishment  of  a  port  on  the  southern  coast  of  the  island. 
He  also  directed  him  to  spare  no  pains  to  conciliate 
all  the  adverse  interests  and  bind  them  into  harmo 
nious  unity  of  purpose. 

Don  Bartholomew  on  receiving  this  letter  at  once 
proceeded  southward  and  fixed  upon  the  mouth  of 
the  river  Ozama  as  the  site  of  the  new  port.  Send- 


THE   THIRD    VOYAGE.  185 

ing  for  artisans  and  labourers,  he  at  once  began  the 
building  of  a  fortress  which  he  named  San  Domingo, 
and  which  afterward  gave  its  name  to  the  chief  port 
and  city  of  the  island.  The  purpose  of  the  Admiral 
and  of  his  brother  seems  to  have  been  ultimately  to 
abandon  Isabella  and  to  establish  in  the  new  town  on 
the  southern  coast  the  seat  of  government  of  the 
colony.  In  accordance  with  this  design,  Don  Bar 
tholomew  planned  to  transport  to  the  southern  coast 
all  of  the  working  population  at  Isabella  excepting 
so  many  as  were  necessary  to  complete  the  two  cara 
vels  now  in  process  of  construction. 

Scarcely  was  the  building  of  the  new  port  and 
town  fairly  undertaken  when  the  Adelantado  became 
involved  in  what  seems  to  have  been  a  most  needless 
and  disastrous  undertaking.  No  one  of  the  early 
authorities  gives  any  justifiable  reason  for  the  enter 
prise.  The  brief  statement  of  Herrera  has  the  ad 
vantage  of  clearness,  and  is  perhaps  as  trustworthy 
as  any  other.  His  language  is  :  "  The  work  having 
begun,  Don  Bartholomew  resolved  to  view  the  king 
dom  of  Behechio,  called  Xaragua,  of  whose  state 
and  government  and  of  whose  sister  Anacaona  he 
had  heard  so  much  talk."  That  this  intimation  con 
cerning  Anacaona  is  not  altogether  gratuitous  may  be 
inferred  from  numerous  statements  in  the  original 
authorities.  Fernando  Columbus,  in  explaining  why 
his  uncle  wished  to  establish  himself  in  Xaragua, 
gives  several  reasons  touching  climate,  soil,  etc.,  and 
then  adds  :  "  But  above  all,  because  the  women  were 
the  handsomest  and  of  the  most  pleasing  conversa- 


1 86  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

tion  of  any."  It  is  a  deplorable  fact,  but  one  that 
can  hardly  be  ignored,  that  the  motives  here  ascribed 
to  Don  Bartholomew  were  a  constant  element,  not 
only  of  distrust  and  hatred  in  all  the  relations  of  the 
Spaniards  with  the  natives,  but' also  a  constant  ele 
ment  of  danger  and  depletion.4 

The  expedition  into  Xaragua  —  a  province  situated 
in  the  western  portion  of  the  island  —  was  fraught  with 
many  new  complications.  Th.e  cacique  Behechio  at 
first  seemed  disposed  to  offer  a  spirited  and  warlike 
resistance.  But  on  receiving  the  assurance  that  the 
mission  was  a  friendly  one,  for  the  purpose  of  paying 
respect  to  himself  and  his  sister,  he  adopted  the 
policy  of  welcoming  the  Adelantado  in  the  most 
friendly  manner.  Don  Bartholomew,  with  his  sol 
diers,  was  thus  admitted  to  the  very  heart  of  the 
kingdom.  It  was  now  easy  for  him  to  complete  his 
errand  by  imposing  tribute.  Behechio  answered  that 
tribute  would  be  impossible,  as  there  was  no  gold 
within  his  kingdom ;  whereupon  the  lieutenant  de 
clared  that  he  would  be  content  to  receive  tribute 
in  the  products  of  the  territory.  On  these  conditions 
and  in  this  manner  it  was  that  the  suzerainty  of  the 
Spaniards  was  established  over  the  western  portion 
of  the  island. 

1  Fernando  Columbus,  in  describing  the  condition  of  the 
colony  on  the  return  of  the  Admiral,  says  .  "  Perciocche  gran 
parte  della  gente,  da  lui  lasciatavi,  era  gia  morta,  e  clegli  altri 
ve  n'  erano  piu  di  cento  sessanta  ammalati  di  inal  Francese  " 
(Vita  di  Christoforo  Colombo,  descritta  da  Ferdinando,  suo 
figlio,  Londra,  1867,  cap.  Ixxi'ii.  p.  239). 


THE    THIRD    VOYAGE.  187 

On  returning  to  Isabella,  Don  Bartholomew  had 
found  a  deplorable  state  of  affairs.  During  his  ab 
sence  more  than  three  hundred  of  the  colonists  had 
died  of  various  diseases.  Among  the  living,  more 
over,  discontents  were  universal.  He  distributed  the 
sick  among  the  various  forts  and  friendly  Indian  vil 
lages  in  the  vicinity,  and  then  set  out  for  Sin  Do 
mingo,  collecting  tribute  by  the  way.  In  all  these 
energetic  proceedings  he  constantly  augmented  the 
accumulations  of  ill-will,  not  only  on  the  part  of  the 
Spaniards,  but  also  on  that  of  the  natives.  The 
islanders  needed  only  an  occasion  and  a  leader  to 
ignite  them  into  a  general  conflagration ;  and  neither 
was  long  wanting.  The  authorities  do  not  quite 
agree  as  to  the  exact  time  when  the  outburst  took 
place  \  but  the  matter  of  a  precise  date  is  not  im 
portant.  Of  the  fact  itself  there  seems  no  room 
for  doubt. 

There  was  everywhere  complaint  on  the  part  of 
the  natives  of  the  tribute  imposed  upon  them ;  and 
nothing  but  the  hopelessness  of  the  situation  had  pre 
vented  them  so  long  from  a  general  attempt  to  throw 
off  their  hateful  yoke.  On  the  occasion  of  this  last 
tribute  several  of  the  minor  chiefs  complained  to  the 
cacique  Guarionex,  and  urged  a  general  rising  of  the 
Indians.  This  cacique  was  greatly  respected  for  his 
intelligence,  as  well  as  for  his  prudence  and  his  cour 
age.  Though  well  aware  of  the  power  of  the  Span 
iards,  he  finally  consented  to  put  himself  at  the  head 
of  a  general  revolt.  A  battle  ensued,  in  which  the 
Spaniards,  as  usual,  were  successful,  taking  Guarionex 


1 88  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

and  many  other  important  persons  captive.  The 
Adelantado  ordered  the  movers  in  the  insurrection 
to  be  put  to  death;  but  he  thought  it  politic  and 
prudent  to  deliver  Guarionex  up  to  his  people. 

Having  thus  settled  the  revolt  in  the  centre  of  the 
island,  and  hearing  that  the  tribute  of  Behechio  was 
ready  for  him,  Don  Bartholomew  left  the  region  be 
tween  Isabella  and  San  Domingo  in  the  control  of 
his  brother  Diego,  and  took  his  departure  for  the 
west  to  visit  Xaragua.  But  the  occasion  of  his  going 
was  the  signal  for  further  revolt.  Now,  however,  he 
had  to  confront  an  insurrection,  not  of  the  Indians, 
but  of  the  Spaniards  themselves. 

Before  the  Admiral  had  left  Hispaniola  for  Spain 
in  1496,  he  appointed  Francis  Roldan  chief  justice 
of  the  island.  This  officer  was  endowed  with  an 
arrogant  and  turbulent  temper,  and  it  soon  became 
apparent  that  there  were  abundant  causes  of  friction 
between  him  and  the  Adelantado.  Disagreement  be 
tween  the  executive  and  judicial  authorities  is  always 
more  or  less  liable  to  occur  in  primitive  governments ; 
and  although  the  chief  authority  must  have  been  in 
the  hands  of  the  governor,  it  is  probable  that  their 
functions  were  never  very  clearly  defined.  Roldan 
early  began  to  show  signs  of  a  restive  spirit,  which 
waxed  stronger  and  stronger  until  it  broke  forth  into 
open  defiance.  By  a  watchful  seizing  of  opportuni 
ties  for  encouraging  the  complaints  of  the  people, 
and  by  ingeniously  declaring  how  the  methods  of  rule 
ought  to  be  modified,  he  had  no  difficulty  in  attach 
ing  to  him  a  formidable  party.  The  absence  of  Don 


THE    THIRD    VOYAGE.  189 

Bartholomew  and  the  weakness  of  Don  Diego  now 
afforded  him  an  opportunity.  Fernando  Columbus 
gives  details  of  Roldan's  plan  to  assassinate  the  Ade- 
lantado  and  then  make  himself  master  of  the  island. 
He  was  to  await  the  return  of  Don  Bartholomew  to 
Isabella,  and  then,  having  put  him  to  death,  was 
to  proclaim  himself  chief  ruler  of  the  island.  The 
Adelantado,  however,  received  tidings  of  the  insur 
rection  before  reaching  Isabella,  and  so  put  him 
self  on  his  guard.  But  no  effort  to  bring  Roldan 
to  terms  was  successful.  The  leader  of  the  rebellion 
had  secured  a  numerous  following,  both  of  natives 
and  of  Spaniards  ;  and  the  consequence  was  that  for 
months  the  island  was  kept  in  such  turbulence  that 
no  progress  could  be  made  either  in  working  the 
mines  or  in  building  the  new  city. 

The  two  vessels  which  the  Admiral  sent  out  with 
provisions  arrived  in  the  spring  of  1498.  The  same 
ships  brought  the  royal  commission  confirming  the 
appointment  of  Don  Bartholomew  as  Adelantado,  or 
Lord  Lieutenant,  of  the  islands,  and  conveying  the 
further  information  that  the  Admiral  himself,  with  a 
fleet  of  six  ships,  was  soon  to  embark  for  the  same 
destination.  The  'commission  was  duly  proclaimed, 
and  on  the  strength  of  this  confirmation  of  authority 
and  the  prospect  of  the  speedy  arrival  of  the  Admiral, 
a  new  effort  was  made  to  bring  Roldan  to  terms. 
But  even  this  attempt  was  not  successful.  After 
ravaging  considerable  portions  of  the  centre  of  the 
island,  Roldan  entered  with  his  followers  into  the 
luxuriant  regions  of  Xaragua,  there  to  await  coming 


190  CHRISTOPHER  'COLUMBUS. 

events.  Though  Roldan  was  not  subdued,  it  is 
probable  that  the  arrival  of  reinforcements  saved 
the  government  of  Don  Bartholomew  from  complete 
destruction. 

In  midsummer  the  three  ships  despatched  by  Co 
lumbus  from  the  Canaries  with  provisions  arrived  off 
the  south  coast  of  the  island.  Ignorant  of  the  situa 
tion  of  San  Domingo,  and  carried  by  strong  winds 
and  currents  in  a  westerly  direction,  they  made  their 
landing,  as  if  adverse  fates  were  in  control,  in  the 
very  territory  held  by  Roldan.  As  if  to  give  added 
significance  to  this  misfortune,  the  captains  decided 
that  the  labouring-men  should  go  ashore,  and  make 
their  way  on  foot  to  San  Domingo.  The  result  was 
that,  according  to  Herrera,  Roldan  "  easily  persuaded 
them  to  stay  with  him,  telling  them  at  the  same  time 
how  they  would  live  with  him,  which  was  only  going 
about  from  one  town  to  another,  taking  the  gold  and 
what  else  they  saw  fit." 

Such  was  the  condition  of  affairs  when  Christopher 
Columbus  arrived  on  the  226.  of  August,  1498.  It 
was  not  until  some  days  later  that  the  three  caravels 
with  supplies,  after  returning  from  Xaragua,  reached 
the  same  port.  In  one  of  his  letters,  written  a  year 
later,  Columbus  says  :  "  I  found  nearly  half  the  colo 
nists  of  Hispaniola  in  a  state  of  revolt." 

The  formidable  extent  of  this  insurrection  is  re 
vealed,  not  only  by  the  numbers  that  participated 
in  it,  but  also  by  the  spirit  shown  by  those  in  revolt, 
as  well  as  by  those  in  authority.  Neither  Don  Bar 
tholomew  nor  the  Admiral  thought  it  prudent  to 


THE    THIRD    VOYAGE.  191 

move  against  Roldan  and  attempt  to  crush  him  by 
force.  This  hesitating  prudence  can  only  be  ex 
plained  by  the  fear  that  such  a  movement  would 
weaken  rather  than  strengthen  the  colony ;  and  such 
a  fear  could  be  justified  only  by  a  very  wide- spread 
and  deep-seated  spirit  of  dissatisfaction.  Columbus 
evidently  expected  on  his  arrival  to  find  that  the 
revolt  of  Roldan  had  its  root  in  a  personal  antipathy 
to  the  Adelantado,  and  that  as  soon  as  he  should 
himself  resume  direct  control  of  affairs,  all  discontent 
would  subside.  But  in  this  he  was  bitterly  disap 
pointed.  The  Alcalde  continued  to  maintain  an 
attitude  of  stubborn  defiance.  Negotiations  were 
entered  into  from  time  to  time ;  but  they  proceeded 
slowly,  and  only  served  to  show  the  extent  and  the 
spirit  of  the  party  in  revolt. 

It  was  while  these  perplexing  events  were  taking 
place  that  Columbus  sent  back  to  Spain  such  of  the 
ships  as  were  not  needed  in  the  colonies. 

In  November  of  1498  an  elaborate  agreement  was 
reached,  the  details  of  which  reveal  at  once  the 
weakness  of  Columbus  and  the  strength  of  Roldan. 
It  had  all  the  characteristics  of  a  treaty,  in  which 
every  concession,  except  that  of  abandoning  the  island 
to  the  rebellion,  was  made  by  the  Admiral.  Colum 
bus  agreed  to  furnish  within  fifty  days  two  vessels 
for  transporting  the  rebels  to  Spain,  to  furnish  them 
with  ample  provisions  for  the  voyage,  to  allow  one 
slave,  man  or  woman,  to  each  of  Roldan's  men,  to 
pledge  his  honour  as  a  Spanish  gentleman  that  he 
would  do  nothing  to  detain  or  obstruct  the  vessels, 


I92  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

and  to  write  to  the  sovereigns  a  letter  designed  to 
absolve  Roldan  and  his  men  from  all  blame. 

But  even  this  treaty,  duly  signed  and  sealed  on  the 
2ist  of  November,  did  not  bring  this  painful  history 
to  an  end.  The  vessels  were  not  ready  in  time.  It 
was  the  midsummer  of  the  following  year  before 
Columbus  had  put  the  ships  at  the  disposal  of  Roldan 
and  his  men.  This  may  not  have  been  the  fault  of 
the  Admiral,  but  it  furnished  a  least  a  pretext  for 
abandoning  the  contract  on  the  part  of  Roldan.  His 
men  seem  to  have  been  unwilling  to  return  to  the  re 
straints  of  civilization,  and  it  was  necessary  to  begin 
negotiations  on  another  basis.  The  settlement  fi 
nally  agreed  upon  and  signed  on  the  5th  of  November, 
1499,  contained  the  four  following  provisions:  First, 
that  fifteen  of  Roldan's  men  should  be  sent  to  Spain 
in  the  first  vessel  that  went ;  secondly,  that  to  those 
that  remained,  Columbus  should  give  land  and  houses 
for  their  pay ;  thirdly,  that  proclamation  should  be 
made  that  all  that  had  happened  had  resulted  from 
false  reports  and  through  the  fault  of  bad  men ;  and 
fourthly,  that  Columbus  should  now  appoint  Roldan 
perpetual  judge.  The  conditions  of  this  agreement 
were  fulfilled,  and  thus,  after  Columbus  had  put  forth 
efforts  extending  over  nearly  a  year  and  a  half,  the 
rebellion  was  brought  to  an  end  by  a  treaty  that  is 
a  sad  commentary  on  the  condition  of  affairs  in  the 
island. 

But  quiet  was  not  yet  by  any  means  to  be  restored. 
No  soonejr  was  Roldan's  rebellion  suppressed  than 
the  appearance  of  another  turbulent  spirit  on  the 


THE   THIRD    VOYAGE.  193 

scene  threatened  to  make  the  permanent  establishment 
of  peace  impossible.  Alonzo  de  Ojeda,  soon  after 
his  treacherous  exploit  in  the  capture  of  the  cacique 
Caonabo,  had  been  despatched  with  four  vessels  on  a 
voyage  *of  exploration.  With  the  details  of  his  expe 
dition,  however  interesting  in  themselves,  we  have 
nothing  in  this  connection  to  do,  except  to  note 
the  fact  that  he  returned  to  Hispaniola  just  after 
matters  had  been  adjusted  between  Columbus  and 
Roldan.  However  Ojeda  may  have  felt  toward  his 
chief  at  the  time  of  his  departure,  it  is  evident  that 
he  brought  back  from  his  voyage  a  malignant  enmity. 
He  was  a  strong  partisan  of  Fonseca,  and  he  now 
represented  that  the  queen  was  at  the  point  of 
death,  that  her  demise  would  deprive  Columbus  of 
his  last  friend,  and  that  it  would  not  be  difficult  so  to 
arrange  matters  that  Columbus  would  soon  be  stripped 
of  his  authority.  To  the  honour  of  Roldan  it  must 
be  said  that  he  not  only  opposed  a  stern  resistance  to 
all  Ojeda's  schemes,  but  that  he  acted  with  strict 
loyalty  to  the  interests  of  Columbus.  Nevertheless, 
for  months  the  island  was  kept  in  turmoil,  the  forces 
of  Roldan  were  pitted  against  those  of  Ojeda,  and 
it  was  not  until  after  several  hostile  skirmishes  that 
the  hopes  of  this  new  rebel  were  finally  dispelled. 

Meanwhile  reports  of  the  unhappy  situation  were 
finding  their  way  back  to  Spain.  Ojeda  lost  no  op 
portunity  to  write  to  Fonseca  and  to  pour  the  poison 
of  his  representations  into  the  mind  of  the  minister. 
Don  Fernando  tells  us  that  during  the  period  of  these 
disorders  "  many  of  the  rebels  sent  letters  from  His- 
13 


194  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

paniola,  and  others,  when  returned  to  Spain,  did  not 
cease  to  give  false  information  to  the  king  and  his 
council  against  the  Admiral  and  his  brother." 

It  was  while  these  various  occurrences  were  taking 
place  that  Columbus  sent  back  to  Spain  five'  of  the 
vessels  that  had  set  out  with  him  on  his  third  voyage. 
The  freightage  and  the  news  borne  by  the  ships  were 
most  unfortunate  for  the  cause  of  the  Admiral.  The 
caravels  were  laden  with  slaves  for  the  Spanish  market. 
Such  a  method  of  recruiting  the  colonial  treasury  was 
not  indeed  unknown,  for  slaves  had  already  before 
been  sent  back  and  sold  for  the  benefit  of  the  expedi 
tion.  But  hitherto  the  Indian  slave-trade  had  been 
kept  within  the  domain  of  custom  and  ecclesiastical 
sanction.  In  the  fifteenth  century  infidels  taken  in 
war  were  thrown  upon  the  slave-market  without  provok 
ing  ecclesiastical  protest.  In  the  war  against  the 
Moors  the  victors  often  sold  prisoners  in  large  num 
bers,  and  even  the  sensibilities  of  Isabella  seem  not 
to  have  been  offended  by  such  a  proceeding.  But 
the  Indians  now  to  be  sent  to  the  auction-block  had 
been  taken  in  a  very  different  way.  Many  of  the 
native  men  and  women  had  found  the  tribute  of 
service  demanded  of  them  so  oppressive  or  revolting 
that  they  had  fled  to  the  forests  as  a  means  of  escape. 
But  in  this  dash  for  liberty  they  were  pursued,  and 
often  overtaken.  Those  who  were  captured  were 
thrown  into  the  ships  and  held  in  close  confinement 
until  the  time  of  sailing.  It  is  painful  to  relate  that 
Columbus  not  only  sanctioned  and  directed  this  pro 
ceeding,  but  that  in  his  letter  to  the  sovereigns  he 


THE    Til  IK  D   VOYAGE.  195 

even  entered  into  an  account  of  the  pecuniary  advan 
tage  that  would  arise  from  these  slave-dealing  trans 
actions.  He  estimated  that  as  many  slaves  could  be 
furnished  as  the  Spanish  market  would  demand,  and 
that  from  this  species  of  traffic  a  revenue  of  as  much 
as  forty  million  maravedis  might  be  derived.  Not 
only  this,  but  he  even  alludes  to  the  intended  adop 
tion  on  the  part  of  private  individuals  of  a  system  of 
exchange  of  slaves  for  goods  wanted  in  colonial  life. 
According  to  this  scheme,  as  outlined  by  the  Admiral, 
the  colonists  were  to  furnish  slaves  to  the  shipowners  * 
who  were  to  take  this  human  freightage  to  Spain,  and 
then,  having  disposed  of  it  and  taken  their  commis 
sion,  invest  the  remaining  proceeds  in  the  articles 
needed,  and  carry  them  back  to  the  traders  in  the 
islands.  The  plan  had  all  the  cold-hearted  brutality 
of  a  practised  slave-dealer. 

The  misfortune  of  this  policy  to  Columbus  was  in 
the  relation  of  the  king  and  queen  respectively  to  the 
colonial  enterprise.  Ferdinand  had  never  shown  him 
self  heartily  favourable  to  the  projects  of  the  Admiral. 
The  queen,  on  the  other  hand,  had  taken  a  much 
larger  and  juster  view  of  the  importance  and  glory  of 
the  discovery.  But  Isabella  had  from  the  first  been 
extremely  sensitive  on  the  matter  of  reducing  the 
native  Indians  to  a  condition  of  slavery.  Before  she 
would  consent  to  the  sale  of  a  former  consignment, 
she  had  required  that  proofs  should  be  furnished  of 
their  having  been  taken  in  open  warfare,  and  also 
that  an  ecclesiastical  commission  should  certify  to 
the  regularity  and  propriety  of  such  a  proceeding. 


196  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

These  requirements,  if  no  other,  should  have  pre 
vented  Columbus  from  presuming  very  much  upon 
any  indulgent  leniency  on  this  subject.  In  view  of 
the  queen's  previous  attitude  in  regard  to  the  matter 
of  slavery,  no  intelligent  observer  can  think  it  strange 
that  the  course  Columbus  was  now  taking  gave  great 
offence,  if  it  did  not  arouse  an  earnest  indignation. 

It  is  evident,  moreover,  that  the  scruples  of  the 
queen  in  regard  to  the  general  wisdom  of  Columbus's 
course  must  have  received  new  significance  from 
the  news  that  came  from  the  island.  It  is  true  that 
Columbus  himself  wrote  an  elaborate  account  of  the 
causes  of  the  revolt ;  but  it  is  also  true  that  the  same 
ships  that  carried  the  slaves  and  the  report  of  the 
Admiral,  carried  also  several  descriptions  of  affairs 
by  Roldan  and  his  followers.  The  Admiral  and  the 
Lord  Lieutenant  were  freely  charged  with  every  spe 
cies  of  enormity.  Nor  were  these  charges  confined 
to  generalities.  The  rebels  went  so  far  as  to  declare 
that  the  tyranny  of  the  rule  in  the  islands  was  so  intol 
erable  that  nothing  but  revolt  was  possible.  They 
also  very  adroitly  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  not 
withstanding  all  the  reports  that  received  currency  in 
regard  to  the  discoveries  of  gold,  no  gold  of  any 
amount  had  as  yet  found  its  way  back  to  Spain. 

Besides  these  reports,  numerous  others  of  a  more 
private  nature  were  sent  by  colonists  to  their  friends 
at  home,  all  of  them  laden  with  gloom  and  dissatis 
faction.  That  the  administrations  of  the  Admiral 
and  the  Lord  Lieutenant  were  very  unpopular,  there 
can  be  no  doubt  whatever  in  the  mind  of  any  one 


THE    THIRD    VOYAGE  197 

who  reads  the  original  accounts ;  and  these  expres 
sions  of  popular  disfavour  streamed  back  to  the 
mother-country  by  every  means  of  conveyance.  Nor 
did  these  tidings  fall  upon  unwelcoming  ears.  Those 
who  had  sent  out  friends  only  to  hear  of  their  death 
or  misfortunes ;  those  who  were  filled  with  envy  at 
the  success  of  one  whom  they  regarded  as  merely  a 
foreign  adventurer ;  those  who  were  embittered  by 
disappointment  that  no  pecuniary  returns  had  been  re 
ceived,  —  all  these  and  thousands  of  others  now  united 
in  one  general  cry  of  denunciation.  The  Admiral's 
son  Fernando  gives  a  vivid  picture  of  the  complaints 
made  against  his  father.  Columbus  himself,  in  writing 
to  the  nurse  of  Prince  Juan  at  this  period,  said  :  "  I 
have  now  reached  a  point  where  there  is  no  man  so 
vile  but  thinks  it  his  right  to  insult  me.  ...  If  I  had 
plundered  the  Indies,  even  to  the  country  where  is 
the  fabled  altar  of  St.  Peter's,  and  had  given  them  all 
to  the  Moors,  they  could  not  have  shown  toward  me 
more  bitter  enmity  than  they  have  done  in  Spain." 

That  much  of  this  unpopularity  was  unjust  and  un 
reasonable,  there  can  be  no  doubt  whatever.  But 
even  when  we  have  conceded  this,  there  still  remains 
the  great  fact  of  a  popular  outcry ;  and  such  an  out 
cry  always  justifies  at  least  an  inquiry.  It  must  not, 
therefore,  be  regarded  as  strange  that  the  Spanish 
sovereigns  at  length  decided  to  make^an  official  in 
vestigation.  Indeed,  any  other  course  would  have 
been  little  less  than  a  culpable  disregard  of  a  power 
ful  public  sentiment. 

Such  were  the  influences  that  were  borne  in  upon 


198  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

the  king  and  queen.  There  is  evidence  that  soon 
after  the  return  of  the  five  vessels  with  their  cargo  of 
slaves,  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  began  to  take  into  con 
sideration  the  question  of  suspending  the  Admiral. 
They  did  not,  however,  act  in  haste.  The  ships  ar 
rived  with  their  ill-omened  freightage  i%November  of 
1498.  In  the  course  of  the  following  winter  the  mon- 
archs  decided  definitively  that  an  investigation  should 
be  made.  On  the  2ist  of  March,  1499,  they  issued 
a  commission  authorizing  Francis  de  Bobadilla  "  to 
ascertain  what  persons  have  raised  themselves  against 
justice  in  the  island  of  Hispaniola,  and  to  proceed 
against  them  according  to  law." 

Bobadilla  was  an  officer  of  the  royal  household 
and  a  commander  of  one  of  the  military  and  religious 
orders.  His  general  reputation  was  good.  Oviedo 
says  that  he  was  "  a  very  honest  and  religious  man." 
The  misfortune  of  the  appointment  was  not  so  much 
in  the  badness  of  the  man  as  in  the  badness  of  the 
situation  in  which  he  was  placed.  The  instructions 
given  by  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  have  been  pre 
served  ;  and  as  we  read  them  we  cannot  escape  the 
conviction  that  they  subjected  Bobadilla  to  a  tempta 
tion  greater  than  ordinary  human'  nature  could  bear. 
He  received  a  series  of  commissions,  each  conferring 
greater  authority  than  that  conferred  by  the  one  be 
fore,  each  intended  to  be  used  only  in  case  of  im 
perative  emergency.  In  one  of  these  commissions 
Bobadilla  was  authorized  to  issue  his  commands  in 
the  royal  name  and  to  send  back  to  Spain  "  any  cava 
liers  or  other  persons,"  in  case  he  should  think  such  a 


THE    THIRD    VOYAGE.  199 

course  necessary  for  the  service.  Another  commission 
authorizes  Bobadilla  to  require  Columbus  to  surren 
der  "  the  fortresses,  ships,  houses,  arms,  ammunition, 
cattle,  and  all  other  royal  property,  under  penalty 
of  the  customary  punishment  for  disobedience  of 
a  royal  order." 

Having  received  these  general  instructions,  Boba 
dilla  was  made  the  bearer  of  the  following  letter  to 
the  Admiral :  — 

DON    CHRISTOPHER    COLUMBUS,   our  Admiral  of  the 

Ocean  : 

We  have  commanded  the  commendador,  Francis  de 
Bobadilla,  the  bearer  of  this,  that  he  speak  to  you  on  our 
part  some  things  which  he  will  tell  you.  We  pray  you 
give  him  faith  and  credence,  and  act  accordingly. 

But  notwithstanding  this  authority,  for  some  rea 
son  that  has  not  been  adequately  explained,  Boba 
dilla  was  not  despatched  to  the  Indies  until  a  year 
from  the  following  July.  It  is  very  easy  to  con 
jecture  that  the  sovereigns  were  more  than  willing 
that,  if  possible,  Columbus  should  still  work  out  the 
problem  for  himself.  They  may  have  desired  Boba 
dilla  to  try  his  influence  at  first  from  a  distance,  in 
the  hope  that  extreme  measures  might  not  have  to 
be  resorted  to.  But  this  purpose  seems  not  to  have 
been  successful.  If  we  accept  of  this  explanation 
of  the  delay,  we  can  hardly  withhold  from  the  sove 
reigns  some  measure  of  commendation  for  their  cau 
tion  and  prudence. 

But  caution  and  prudence  formed  no  part  of  the 


200  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS. 

policy  pursued  after  Bobadilla  was  sent  to  Hispaniola. 
It  is  difficult  to  believe  that  the  commissioner  acted 
without  at  least  the  royal  approval  of  a  policy  of  vig 
our,  though  it  is  impossible  to  suppose  that  the  sover 
eigns  would  have  given  their  sanction  in  detail  to  the 
manner  in  which  he  performed  his  mission.  Bobadilla 
seems  at  least  not  to  have  been  unwilling  to  act  with 
energy  and  directness.  There  is  no  evidence  that  he 
was  not  high-principled,  or  that  he  was  actuated  by 
any  other  motives  than  those  of  the  public  good ;  but 
he  was  a  person  of  strong  prejudices  and  of  narrow 
ness  of  mind,  and  consequently  he  was  unable  to 
distinguish  between  vigour  and  coarse  brutality. 

The  arrival  of  Bobadilla  at  San  Domingo  was  on 
the  23d  of  August,  1499.  He  found  affairs  in  ex 
treme  disorder.  The  first  information  he  received 
was  that  seven  of  the  rebels  had  just  been  hanged, 
and  that  five  more  had  been  condemned  and  were 
awaiting  a  similar  fate.  Las  Casas  tells  us  that  as 
Bobadilla  entered  the  river,  he  beheld  on  either  hand 
a  gibbet,  and  on  it  the  body  of  a  prominent  Spaniard 
lately  executed  !  The  impression  thus  made  upon 
his  mind  was  no  doubt  intensified  by  the  rumours 
that  came  from  every  quarter.  He  seems  to  have 
regarded  what  he  saw  and  heard  as  conclusive  evi 
dence  of  the  Admiral's  cruelty  and  culpability. 

The  next  morning,  after  mass,  Bobadilla  ordered 
the  letter  authorizing  him  to  make  investigations  to 
be  read  before  the  assembled  populace  about  the 
church-door.  The  commission  authorized  him  to 
seize  persons  and  fortresses,  to  sequestrate  the  prop- 


THE    THIRD    VOYAGE.  201 

erty  of  delinquents,  and  finally  called  upon  the 
Admiral  and  all  others  in  authority  to  assist  in  the 
discharge  of  his  duties.  The  Admiral  and  the  Ade- 
lantado  were  in  another  part  of  the  island,  the  com 
mand  at  San  Domingo  having  been  intrusted  to  Don 
Diego.  After  the  reading  of  the  commission,  Boba- 
dilla  demanded  of  the  acting  governor  that  he  sur 
render  the  prisoners  that  were  held  for  execution, 
together  with  the  evidence  concerning  them.  The 
reply  was  given  that  the  prisoners  were  held  by  com 
mand  of  the  Admiral,  and  that  the  Admiral's  au 
thority  was  superior  to  any  that  Bobadilla  might 
possess,  and  therefore  that  the  prisoners  could  not 
be  given  up.  This  defiant  answer  to  his  demand 
provoked  Bobadilla  into  bringing  forward  all  the 
reserves  of  his  authority.  Accordingly,  on  the  next 
morning,  as  soon  as  mass  was  said,  he  caused  his 
other  letter  to  be  proclaimed,  investing  him  with  the 
government  of  the  islands  and  of  the  continent. 
After  taking  the  oath  of  office,  he  produced  the  third 
letter  of  the  Crown,  ordering  Columbus  to  deliver 
up  all  the  -royal  propeity;  and  then,  as  if  to  clinch 
popular  favour,  he  produced  an  additional  mandate, 
requiring  him,  at  the  earliest  practicable  moment,  to 
pay  all  arrears  of  wages  due  to  persons  in  the  royal 
service. 

This  proclamation  had  the  desired  effect.  The 
populace,  many  of  whom  were  suffering  from  arrears 
in  payment  of  wages,  hailed  the  new  governor  as  a 
benefactor  and  a  saviour. 

Thus  it  was  that,  by  a  very  natural  series  of  events, 


202  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

the  narrow  mind  of  Bobadilla  was  led  on  to  a  pre 
cipitate  assumption  of  all  the  authority  conferred 
upon  him.  He  decided  to  act  with  an  energy  that 
amounted  to  brutality.  His  next  step  was  to  take 
possession  of  the  Admiral's  house,  and  then,  sending 
the  royal  letter,  to  summon  the  Admiral  before  him. 
No  resistance  was  offered  either  by  Columbus  or  by 
either  of  his  brothers.  Indeed,  the  authority  con 
ferred  by  the  commission  and  the  attitude  of  the 
populace  made  resistance  impossible.  Bobadilla, 
without  hesitation,  not  only  arrested  them,  but  put 
them  into  chains. 

No  sooner  was  it  apparent  that  the  commissioner 
was  disposed  to  act  with  energy  than  the  whole  pack 
of  malcontents  set  up  their  cry  of  accusation.  They 
told  how  Columbus  had  made  them  work  on  the 
fortresses  and  other  buildings  even  when  they  were 
sick ;  how  he  had  condemned  them  to  be  whipped 
even  for  stealing  a  peck  of  wheat  when  they  were 
dying  with  hunger;  how  he  had  not  baptized  In 
dians,  because  he  desired  to  make  slaves  rather  than 
Christians ;  and,  finally,  how  he  had  entered  into  un 
just  wars  with  the  natives,  in  order  that  he  might 
capture  slaves  to  be  sent  to  the  markets  in  Spain. 
Many  of  these  accusations,  if  the  facts  could  have 
been  understood,  might  doubtless  have  been  ex 
plained  in  a  way  to  reflect  no  discredit  upon  the 
Admiral ;  they  might  even  have  shown  proof  of  his 
firmness  and  sagacity  as  a  ruler.  But  there  was  no 
opportunity  for  explanation.  It  is  only  certain  that 
the  populace  rejoiced  in  the  coming  of  Bobadilla, 


THE    THIRD   VOYAGE.  203 

and  that  they  encouraged  him  in  all  his  acts  of 
violence. 

Thus  it  was  that  the  disaster  toward  which  so 
many  things  had  been  tending  was  finally  consum 
mated.  It  has  been  fortunate  for  the  memory  of 
Columbus  that  the  act  of  suspension  was  carried  out 
with  such  total  disregard  of  what  the  navigator  had 
accomplished.  In  accordance  with  a  well-known  im 
pulse  of  human  nature,  the  sympathies  of  all  generous 
minds  from  that  time  to  this  have  been  enlisted  in 
his  favour.  These  sympathies  have  often  led  to  a 
forgetfulness  of  the  grievances  under  which  the  colo 
nists  were  suffering.  But  in  the  light  of  all  the  facts 
that  are  accessible,  it  is  difficult  to  believe  that  the 
sovereigns  were  wrong  in  providing  for  his  removal. 
The  only  cause  of  just  complaint  is  the  fact  that  it 
was  not  done  in  a  manner  that  was  worthy  of  his 
great  achievements. 

Bobadilla  acted  with  such  brutal  energy,  and  the 
outcries  of  the  poplace  were  so  violent,  that  Columbus 
believed  his  life  was  to  be  sacrificed.  There  is  no 
reason  to  suppose,  however,  that  Bobadilla  ever  for 
a  moment  thought  of  bringing  the  Admiral  to  execu 
tion.  He  decided  at  once  to  send  the  prisoners  to 
Spain.  Alonzo  de  Villejo  was  put  in  charge  of  the 
Admiral  and  of  the  two  brothers.  Las  Casas  says  of 
Villejo  :  "  He  was  a  worthy  hidalgo  and  my  particu 
lar  friend."  When  the  new  custodian  with  his  guard 
entered  the  prison,  Columbus  supposed  it  was  to 
conduct  him  to  the  scaffold.  Villejo  at  once  reas 
sured  him,  however,  and  told  him  his  errand  was  to 


204  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

transfer  him  to  the  ship,  and  that  they  were  at  once 
to  embark  for  Spain.  Columbus  may  well  have  felt 
like  one  restored  from  death  to  life.  But  as  the 
officers  took  him  to  the  ship,  they  were  followed 
by  the  insulting  scoffs  of  the  rabble ;  for  all  seemed 
to  take  a  brutal  satisfaction  in  heaping  indignities 
upon  his  head. 

On  shipboard  Villejo  treated  his  illustrious  pris 
oner  with  every  consideration.  He  offered  to  remove 
the  irons ;  but  to  this  Columbus  would  not  consent. 
It  is  a  signifiant  indication  of  his  character  that  he 
haughtily  answered :  "  No,  their  Majesties  ordered 

e  to  submit  to  whatever  Bobadilla  might  command ; 
by  their  authority  I  was  put  in  chains,  and  by  their 
authority  alone  shall  they  be  removed."^  Fernando 
tells  us  that  his  father  was  in  the  habit  of  keeping  the 
manacles  in  his  cabinet,  and  that  he  requested  that 
they  might  be  buried  with  him. 

After  a  prosperous  voyage,  the  ship  reached  the 
port  of  Cadiz  in  November,  1500. 


THE  FOURTH   VOYAGE.  205 


CHAPTER   VI. 

THE    FOURTH    VOYAGE. 

THE  arrival  of  Columbus  in  chains  at  the  port  of 
Cadiz  produced  a  deep  sensation.  It  was  but  natural 
that  there  should  be  an  instantaneous  reaction  in  his 
favour.  Even  those  who  had  not  hesitated  to  criticise 
or  even  denounce  him,  were  now  moved  with  a  deep 
and  natural  sympathy  at  the  ignominy  that  had  over 
taken  him.  The  reaction  took  possession  of  all 
classes,  and  the  agitation  of  the  community  was 
scarcely  less  than  it  had  been  when,  seven  years 
before,  with  banners  flying  and  music  sounding,  he 
had  departed  from  the  same  port  with  a  fleet  of 
seventeen  ships  for  his  second  voyage. 

The  tidings  of  his  imprisonment  soon  spread 
abroad.  In  the  luxurious  city  of  Seville  there  was 
deep  and  general  indignation.  The  court  was  at 
Granada.  Columbus,  still  ignorant  as  to  how  far  the 
course  of  Bobadilla  had  received  royal  authority,  ab 
stained  from  writing  to  the  monarchs.  While  on 
shipboard,  however,  he  had  written  an  elaborate  letter 
to  Donna  Juana  de  la  Torres,  formerly  a  nurse  of 
Prince  Juan,  and  still  a  great  favourite  of  the  queen. 
_The  letter  was  doubtless  written  in  the  supposition 


206  CHRISTOPHER    COLUMBUS. 

that  it  would  reach  the  court  without  delay ;  and  with 
the  permission  of  the  master  of  the  ship,  it  was  de 
spatched  by  the  hand  of  Antonio  de  Torres,  a  friend 
of  Columbus  and  a  brother  of  Juana.  Las  Casas 
tells  us  that  it  was  by  this  letter  that  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella  first  learned  of  the  indignities  that  had  been 
heaped"  upon  the  Admiral.  Other  tidings,  however, 
soon  followed.  A  friendly  letter  from  Vallejo  con 
firmed  in  all  essential  points  the  narrative  of  Colum 
bus.  A  despatch  was  also  received  from  the  alcalde 
to  whose  hands  Columbus  had  been  consigned  to 
await  the  pleasure  of  the  sovereigns. 

Ferdinand  and  Isabella  acted  without  hesitation. 
Las  Casas  tells  us  that  the  queen  was  deeply  agitated 
by  the  letter  of  Columbus.  Even  the  more  prudent 
Ferdinand  did  not  deem  it  necessary  to  wait  for  the 
despatches  from  Bobadilla.  They  declared  at  once 
that  the  commissioner  had  exceeded  his  instructions, 
and  ordered  that  Columbus  should  not  only  be  set 
free,  but  should  be  treated  with  every  consideration. 
They  invited  him  to  court,  and  ordered  a  credit  of 
two  thousand  ducats  (a  sum  equal  to  more  than  ten 
thousand  dollars  at  the  present  day)  to  defray  his 
expenses. 

Columbus  reached  the  court  at  Granada  on  the 
i  yth  of  December.  His  hearing  before  the  king  and 
queen  is  said  not  to  have  been  that  of  a  man  who  had 
been  disgraced  and  humiliated,  but  rather  that  of  one 
whose  proud  spirit  was  meeting  undeserved  reproach 
with  a  lofty  scorn.  He  was  richly  dressed,  and  at 
tended  with  a  retinue  becoming  his  high  office.  The( 


THE  FOURTH   VOYAGE.  207 

king  and  queen  received  him  with  unqualified  distinc 
tion,  and  encouraged  him  with  gracious  expressions 
of  favour.  At  length,  regaining  his  self-possession, 
Columbus  delivered  an  earnest  vindication  of  his 
course.  He  explained  what  he  had  done,  declaring 
that  if  at  any  time  he  had  erred,  it  had  been  through 
inexperience  in  government,  and  the  extraordinary 
difficulties  under  which  he  had  laboured. 

Isabella  replied  in  a  speech  that  did  great  credit  to 
her  discretion  as  well  as  her  sympathy.  She  declared 
that  while  she  fully  appreciated  the  magnitude  of  his 
services  and  the  rancour  of  his  enemies,  she  feared 
that  he  had  given  cause  for  complaint.  Charlevoix 
has  reported  what  purports  to  be  the  speech  of  the 
queen. 

"Common  report,''  she  said,  "accuses  you  of  acting 
with  a  degree  of  severity  quite  unsuitable  for  an  infant 
colony,  and  likely  to  excite  rebellion  there.  But  the  mat 
ter  as  to  which  I  find  it  hardest  to  give  you  my  pardon 
is  your  conduct  in  reducing  to  slavery  a  number  of  In 
dians  who  had  done  nothing  to  deserve  such  a  fate.  This 
was  contrary  to  my  express  orders.  As  your  ill  fortune 
willed  it,  just  at  the  time  when  I  heard  of  this  breach  of 
my  instructions,  everybody  was  complaining  of  you,  and 
no  one  spoke  a  word  in  your  favour.  And  I  felt  obliged 
to  send  to  the  Indies  a  commissioner  to  investigate  mat 
ters  and  give  me  a  true  report,  and,  if  necessary,  to  put 
limits  to  the  authority  which  you  were  accused  of  over 
stepping.  If  you  were  found  guilty  of  the  charges,  he 
was  to  relieve  you  of  the  government  and  to  send  you  to 
Spain  to  give  an  account  of  your  stewardship.  This  was 
the  extent  of  his  commission.  I  find  that  I  have  made  a 
bad  choice  in  my  agent,  and  I  shall  take  care  to  make 


208  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

an  example  of  Bobadilla  which  will  serve  as  a  warning 
to  others  not  to  exceed  their  powers.  I  cannot,  however, 
promise  to  reinstate  you  at  once  in  your  government. 
People  are  too  much  inflamed  against  you,  and  must  have 
time  to  cool.  As  to  your  rank  of  Admiral,  I  never  in 
tended  to  deprive  you  of  it.  But  you  must  abide  your 
time  and  trust  in  me." 

The  course  pursued  by  the  monarchs  was  not 
altogether  above  reproach ;  for  in  their  haste  to 
make  amends  to  Columbus,  they  were  not  unwilling 
to  throw  an  unjust  imputation  upon  Bobadilla.  What 
ever  had  been  the  intention  of  the  monarchs,  it  is 
now  plain  that  the  commissioner  had  not  exceeded 
his  authority  in  making  the  arrest;  and  that  the 
monarchs  should  be  willing  to  dismiss  their  agent 
without  waiting  even  to  receive  his  report,  is  evidence 
that  they  had  either  forgotten  the  nature  of  their  in 
structions,  or  that  they  were  now  carried  away  by  the 
representations  of  the  Admiral  or  the  clamours  of  the 
populace. 

The  Admiral,  however,  had  but  little  reason  to  be 
satisfied.  He  cared  not  so  much  for  the  removal  of 
Bobadilla  as  for  his  own  reinstatement.  This  he 
deemed  necessary  to  a  complete  vindication ;  but  in 
this  he  was  doomed  to  disappointment.  There  is  no 
evidence  that  Ferdinand  ever  looked  with  favour  on 
the  restoration  of  Columbus  to  his  command. 
-  The  misfortune  that  had  befallen  the  Admiral  was 
of  a  nature  to  awaken  sympathy  in  every  generous 
mind.  Even  down  to  the  present  day  this  feeling  is 
so  wide  spread  that  it  is  difficult  to  secure  a  judicious 


THE  FOURTH   VOYAGE.  209 

discrimination  between  the  fact  of  his  removal  and 
the  manner  in  which  the  removal  was  accomplished. 
But  these  two  phases  of  the  subject  are  entirely  dis 
tinct,  and  ought  to  be  independently  considered. 
The  manner  of  the  removal  can  have  no  justification. 
This  was  admitted  by  the  monarchs,  who  in  order  to 
shield  themselves  from  obloquy  were  not  unwilling 
to  bring  an  unjust  charge  against  the  commissioner. 
It  is  now  plain  that  the  fault  of  Bobadilla  was  not  in 
exceeding  his  authority,  but  in  the  unwise  and  im 
moderate  use  of  the  discretion  that  had  been  placed 
in  his  hands.  It  is  by  no  means  certain  that  a  care 
ful  investigation  of  affairs  in  the  island,  followed  by 
a  judicious  and  moderate  report,  would  not  have 
resulted  in  a  removal  of  the  Admiral  from  his  com 
mand  ;  for  it  is  quite  possible  that  even  if  Columbus 
was  not  deserving  of  censure,  the  relations  of  the 
different  interests  were  in  such  turmoil  that  a  gover 
nor  who  had  had  no  connection  with  affairs  thus  far, 
would  be  more  successful  in  subduing  anarchy  and  in 
bringing  order  out  of  chaos. 

But  whether  such  a  result  would  have  ensued,  can 
never  be  more  than  a  matter  of  mere  conjecture.  It 
is  certain  that  the  difficulties  of  the  situation  had 
not  been  successfully  overcome  by  Columbus  or  by 
either  of  his  brothers.  It  is  incontestable  that  even 
as  late  as  the  arrival  of  Bobadilla,  affairs  on  the  island 
were  in  great  confusion,  and  that  the  rebellion  had 
been  subdued  only  by  the  granting  of  terms  that  were 
not  very  creditable  either  to  Columbus  or  to  Spanish 
civilization. 

14 


210  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

There  is  nothing  remaining  that  throws  more  light 
on  the  condition  of  affairs  in  Hispaniola  at  the  time 
of  which  we  are  speaking,  than  the  letter  of  Columbus 
to  the  old  nurse  of  Don  Juan.  Any  one  who  reads  it 
thoughtfully  must  receive  a  number  of  very  hetero 
geneous  impressions.  With  a  little  more  than  usual 
intensity,  it  breathes  a  loyal  and  pietistic  spirit.  It 
conveys  a  very  delicate,  but  at  the  same  time  a  very 
just,  reproach  to  the  monarchs  for  bestowing  on  Bo- 
badilla  the  authority  which  he  received.  Nothing 
could  have  been  more  justly  or  felicitously  expressed 
than  the  sentence  in  which  he  declared  :  "  I  have 
been  wounded  extremely  by  the  thought  that  a  man 
should  have  been  sent  out  to  make  inquiry  into  my 
conduct  who  knew  that  if  he  sent  home  a  very  ag 
gravated  account  of  the  result  of  his  investigation,  he 
would  remain  at  the  head  of  the  government."  He 
showed,  moreover,  the  unpardonable  precipitancy 
with  which  Bobadilla  had  acted,  in  making  his  arrests 
right  and  left  before  he  had  had  time  to  conduct  any 
proper  investigations. 

But  after  all  these  mitigations  are  admitted,  and 
after  Columbus  has  received  every  credit  that  can  be 
accorded  him,  there  still  remains  the  fact  that  the 
island  had  been  in  turmoil  almost  from  the  first ; 
that  the  Indians,  who,  according  to  the  testimony  of 
Columbus  himself,  had  been  at  the  first  everywhere 
friendly  and  peaceable,  had  now  become  universally 
hostile ;  that  even  if  these  disorders  had  largely  oc 
curred  in  the  absence  of  the  Admiral,  it  was  neverthe 
less  true  that  they  had  all  occurred  under  officers 


THE  FOURTH   VOYAGE.  2H 

appointed  by  Columbus  himself;  that  even  if,  as  he 
said,  vast  numbers  of  men  had  gone  to  the  Indies 
"  who  did  not  deserve  water  from  God  or  man,"  still, 
all  the  men  that  had  gone  had  been  accepted  for  the 
purpose  by  the  Admiral  himself;  that  if  he  com 
plained  that  the  Spanish  settlers  "  would  give  as  much 
for  a  woman  as  for  a  farm,"  and  that  "this  sort  of 
trading  is  very  common,"  still  this  iniquity  was  all 
under  an  administration  of  which  he  himself  was  the 
head,  and  directly  under  subordinates  whom  he  him 
self  had  appointed  to  command  and,  most  important 
of  all,  under  a  system  which  he  himself  had  recom 
mended,  and  for  which  he  alone  was  responsible.  It 
may  well  be  asserted  that  the  comprehensive  nature 
of  his  own  commission,  and  the  fact  that  his  appoint 
ments  had  not  been  interfered  with,  estopped  him 
from  asserting  that  all  responsibility  for  failure  was  to 
be  charged  to  the  wickedness  and  the  weakness  of  his 
subordinates.  Had  Columbus  been  completely  ade 
quate  to  the  situation,  he  would  have  bound  his  subor 
dinates  to  him  in  unquestioning  loyalty.  The  truth  is, 
however,  that  from  first  to  last,  with  the  exception  of 
his  brothers,  those  who  were  nearest  him  in  command 
sooner  or  later  became  his  enemies,  —  and  generally 
the  enmity  was  not  long  delayed. 

But  there  were  other  considerations  that  led  Ferdi 
nand  to  hesitate.  The  colony  had  not  been  prosper 
ous  from  any  point  of  view.  It  had  been  a  continuous 
and  unlessening  source  of  expense,  and  had  brought 
as  yet  very  small  returns.  The  hopes  that  the  early 
reports  of  Columbus  had  aroused  had  ended  in  disap- 


212  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

pointment.  The  Admiral  had  confidently  expected 
to  come  upon  all  the  wealth  of  the  Great  Khan  and 
of  Cathay.  Even  the  gold  mines  of  Ophir,  which  he 
believed  he  had  at  length  discovered,  brought  no 
returns. 

In  the  mean  time,  however,  the  court  was  besieged 
with  the  importunities  of  enterprising  navigators  who 
desired  permission  to  make  explorations  without  gov 
ernmental  support.  The  only  favour  they  asked  was 
the  privilege  of  sailing  and  of  bringing  back  to  the 
royal  treasury  the  due  quota  of  their  gains.  They 
promised  to  plant  the  Spanish  standard  in  all  the  lands 
of  the  west,  and  thus,  without  depleting  the  treasury, 
maintain  and  even  advance  the  glories  of  the  Spanish 
discoveries. 

To  such  importunities  the  Government  -began  to 
yield  as  early  as  1495.  The  privileges  that  were 
granted  were  in  obvious  violation  of  the  exclusive 
rights  bestowed  upon  Columbus  before  the  first  voy 
age.  But  it  was  not  easy  to  observe  the  letter  of  that 
contract.  The  lands  discovered  were  so  much  vaster 
in  extent  than  even  Columbus  had  anticipated  that  it 
would  be  unreasonable  to  expect  a  comprehensive  ob 
servance  of  the  monopoly  granted.  Though  the  Ad 
miral  made  repeated  and  not  unreasonable  complaints 
of  the  privileges  bestowed  upon  others  in  violation  of 
his  charter,  yet  the  custom  of  granting  such  privileges 
was  never  completely  discontinued.  Nor  would  it 
have  been  reasonable  to  suppose  that  a  monopoly  of 
navigation  and  government  in  the  western  world  could 
forever  remain  exclusively  in  the  sacred  possession  of 


THE  FOURTH  VOYAGE.  213 

a  single  family.  It  was  simply  a  question  as  to  when 
that  monopoly  should  cease.  That  there  was  no  pur 
pose  to  do  injustice,  was  shown  in  the  requirement 
that  trie  interests  of  Columbus  in  the  products  of  the 
island  should  be  respected  to  the  letter  by  Bobadilla 
and  his  successors. 

During  the  eight  years  that  had  now  elapsed  since 
the  first  voyage  of  the  Admiral,  a  considerable  number 
of  navigators  had  already  immortalized  themselves  by 
important  discoveries  and  explorations.  The  Cabots, 
going  out  from  Bristol,  where  they;  had  doubtless 
learned  of  the  projects  and  the  success  of  Columbus, 
sailed  westward  by  a  more  northerly  route,  and  after 
reaching  the  continent  a  year  before  South  America 
was  touched  by  the  Spanish  navigator,  explored  the 
coast  as  far  as  from  Newfoundland  to  Florida.  As 
early  as  1487,  after  seventy  years  of  slow  advances 
down  the  six  thousand  miles  of  western  African  coast, 
the  Portuguese,  under  Bartholomew  Diaz,  as  we  have 
already  noted,  had  reached  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope ; 
and  ten  years  later,  just  as  Columbus  was  preparing 
for  his  third  voyage,  Vasca  da  Gama  doubled  the  Cape, 
and  in  the  following  spring  cast  anchor  in  the  bay  at 
Calicut.  In  the  spring  of  1499  Pedro  Alonzo  Nino, 
who  had  accompanied  Columbus  as  a  pilot  in  the  voy 
age  to  Cuba  and  Paria,  obtained  a  license,  and  not 
only  explored  the  coast  of  Central  America  for  several 
hundred  miles,  but  traded  his  European  goods  to  such 
advantage  as  to  enable  him  to  return  after  one  of  the 
most  extensive  and  lucrative  voyages  yet  accomplished. 
In  the  same  year,  Vincente  Yanez  Pinzon,  who  had 


214  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

commanded  one  of  the  ships  in  the  first  expedition  of 
Columbus,  pushed  boldly  to  the  southwest,  and,  cross 
ing  the  equator,  came  finally  to  the  great  headland 
which  is  now  known  as  Cape  St.  Augustine,  and  for 
their  Catholic  Majesties  not  only  took  possession  of 
the  territories  called  the  Brazils,  but  discovered  what 
was  afterwards  appropriately  named  the  River  of  the 
Amazons.  In  the  year  1500  Diego  Lepe,  fired  with 
the  zeal  for  discovery  that  had  set  the  port  of  Palos 
aglow,  went  still  farther  to  the  south,  and,  turning  Cape 
St.  Augustine,  ascertained  that  either  the  mainland  or 
an  enormous  island  ran  far  away  to  the  southwest. 

Most  important  and  significant  of  all,  the  fleet  which, 
in  the  year  1500,  was  sent  out  from  Portugal  under 
Pedro  Cabral,  for  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  in  striving, 
according  to  the  advice  of  Da  Gama,  to  avoid  the  dan 
gers  of  the  coast  islands,  drifted  so  far  west  that  when 
it  was  caught  in  a  violent  easterly  storm,  it  was  driven 
upon  the  coast  of  Brazil,  and  thus  proved  that  even  if 
Columbus  had  not  lived  and  sailed,  America  would 
have  been  made  known  to  Europe  in  the  very  first 
year  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

Thus  it  was  that,  not  to  speak  in  detail  of  the  ex 
plorations  of  navigators  of  lesser  note,  the  English 
explorers  in  the  north,  and  the  Spanish  and  Portu 
guese  in  the  south,  had,  before  the  end  of  the  year 
1500,  given  to  Europe  a  definite,  though  an  incorrect, 
conception  of  the  magnitude  of  the  new  world.  There 
is  no  evidence  that  as  yet  anybody  had  supposed  the 
newly  discovered  lands  to  be  any  other  than  the  east 
ern  borders  of  Asia  and  Africa.  But  it  must  have  been 


THE   FOURTH   VOYAGE.  215 

evident  enough  to  many  others,  as  well  as  to  King 
Ferdinand,  that  these  new  possessions  were  too  vast 
and  too  important  to  be  intrusted  to  the  governorship 
of  any  one  man.  They  appealed  alike  to  ambition, 
to  avarice,  and  to  jealousy. 

The  policy  adopted  was  one  of  delay.  Columbus 
was  naturally  impatient  to  return  to  the  office  of 
which  he  had  been  deprived.  The  court,  however, 
while  treating  him  with  every  external  consideration, 
would  not  bring  itself  to  give  an  affirmative  answer. 
Another  course  was  finally  adopted.  It  was  agreed 
that  Bobadilla  should  be  removed,  that  another  gov 
ernor,  who  had  had  no  part  in  the  administrative 
quarrels,  should  be  appointed  for  a  term  of  two  years, 
and  that  Columbus  should  be  intrusted  with  a  new 
exploring  expedition. 

The  person  chosen  to  supersede  Bobadilla  was 
Nicholas  de  Ovando,  a  commander  of  the  Order  of 
Alcantara.  The  picture  given  of  him  by  Las  Casas  is 
one  that  might  well  conciliate  the  prepossessions  of  the 
reader.  According  to  this  high  authority,  he  was  gra 
cious  in  manner,  fluent  in  speech,  had  great  veneration 
for  justice,  was  an  enemy  to  avarice,  and  had  such  an 
aversion  to  ostentation  that  when  he  arose  to  be  grand 
commander,  he  would  never  allow  himself  to  be  ad 
dressed  by  the  title  attaching  to  his  office.  Yet  he 
was  a  man  of  ardent  temper,  and  so,  in  the  opinion  of 
Las  Casas,  was  incapable  of  governing  the  Indians, 
upon  whom  he  inflicted  incalculable  injury. 

Before  Ovando  was  ready  to  sail,  there  was  consid 
erable  delay.  It  had  been  decided  to  give  him  com- 


216  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

mand,  not  only  of  Hispaniola,  but  also  of  the  other 
islands  and  of  the  mainland.  The  fleet  was  to  be 
the  largest  yet  sent  to  the  western  world.  When  at 
length  it  was  ready,  it  mustered  thirty  sail,  and  had  on 
board  about  twenty-five  hundred  souls. 

That  the  new  governor  might  appear  with  becom 
ing  dignity,  he  was  allowed  an  unusual  amount  of 
ostentation.  A  sumptuous  attire  of  silk  brocades  and 
precious  stones  was  prescribed,  and  he  was  permitted 
a  body-guard  of  seventy-two  yeomen. 

Las  Casas  accompanied  this  expedition,  and  con 
sequently  we  have  the  great  advantage  of  his  own 
personal  observations.  He  tells  us  that  a  great  crowd 
of  adventurers  thronged  the  fleet,  — "  eager  specu 
lators,  credulous  dreamers,  and  broken-down  gentle 
men  of  desperate  fortunes, — all  expecting  to  enrich 
themselves  with  little  effort."  But  it  is  evident  also 
that  there  was  another  class  on  which  greater  hopes 
might  reasonably  be  placed.  In  the  original  accounts, 
significant  attention  is  called  to  the  fact  that  among 
those  who  formed  the  expedition  there  were  seventy- 
three  married  men  with  their  families,  all  of  respect 
able  character.  Among  those  enumerated  we  notice, 
not  only  a  chief-justice  to  replace  Roldan,  but  a  phy 
sician,  a  surgeon,  and  an  apothecary,  —  in  short,  per 
sons  of  all  ranks  that  seemed  to  be  necessary  for  the 
supply  and  the  development  of  the  island. 

That  the  sovereigns  were  not  unmindful  of  the 
rights  of  Columbus,  was  evinced  by  the  provisions 
made  for  the  protection  of  his  interests.  Ovando 
was  ordered  to  examine  into  all  the  accounts,  for  the 


THE  FOURTH   VOYAGE.  217 

purpose  of  ascertaining  the  amount  of  the  damages 
Columbus  had  suffered.  All  the  property  belonging 
to  the  Admiral  that  had  been  confiscated  by  Boba- 
dilla  was  to  be  restored,  and  the  same  care  was  to 
be  taken  of  the  interests  of  the  Admiral's  brothers. 
Not  only  were  the  arrears  of  the  revenues  to  be  paid, 
but  they  were  also  to  be  secured  for  the  future.  To 
this  end  Columbus  was  permitted  to  have  an  agent 
present  at  the  smelting  and  the  working  of  the  gold, 
in  order  that  his  own  rights  might  be  duly  protected. 
But  notwithstanding  these  evidences  of  royal  favour, 
the  Admiral  was  much  depressed  in  spirit.  In  the 
course  of  the  long  months  during  which  he  was  con 
demned  to  wait  for  the  final  action  of  the  sovereigns, 
he  had  much  time  for  reflection ;  and  it  is  not  sin 
gular  that  his  thoughts  turned  to  his  long-neglected 
scheme  for  the  rescue  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre.  From 
the  years  of  his  early  manhood,  the  desirability  of 
such  an  act  had  held  possession  of  his  soul.  It 
was  characteristic  of  his  immoderate  ardour  that  he 
even  recorded  a  vow  that  within  seven  years  from 
the  time  of  the  discovery  he  would  furnish  fifty  thou 
sand  foot  soldiers  and  four  thousand  horse  for  the 
accomplishment  of  this  purpose.  The  time  had 
elapsed,  and  the  vow  remained  unfulfilled.  It  had 
not,  however,  passed  out  of  his  remembrance  ;  and  he 
now  appealed  to  the  monarchs  to  take  the  matter  up 
as  a  national  enterprise.  The  war  with  Granada 
had  come  to  a  victorious  end ;  the  Duke  of  Medina 
Sidonia  had  given  new  lustre  to  the  Spanish  name  in 
Italy ;  the  Spanish  armies  were  now  at  leisure  ;  Ferdi- 


2i8  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

nand  and  Isabella  were  firm  supporters  of  the  Church  : 
and  what  could  be  more  appropriate  than  that  they 
should  now  prove  their  superior  devotion  and  power 
by  the  vigorous  presecution  of  an  enterprise  that  had 
baffled  the  efforts  of  united  Christendom  for  more 
than  two  centuries?  The  visionary  element  in  the 
mind  of  Columbus  was  never  more  plainly  revealed. 

These  dreamy  speculations  and  importunities,  how 
ever,  were  only  temporary  in  their  nature.  The  mind 
of  the  explorer  soon  reverted  to  more  practical  affairs. 
It  was  spurred  on  in  this  direction  and  in  that  by  the 
successes  of  Portuguese  explorers  in  the  East.  Vasco 
da  Gama  had  shown  that  navigation  beyond  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope  was  practicable,  and  Pedro  Cabral 
had  not  only  gone  as  far  as  the  marts  of  Hindostan, 
but  had  returned  with  ships  laden  with  precious  com 
modities  of  infinite  variety.  The  discoveries  in  the 
West  had  thus  far  brought  no  return ;  and  yet,  ac 
cording  to  every  theory  that  Columbus  had  enter 
tained,  the  islands  he  had  discovered  were  only  the 
border-land  —  only  the  fringe,  so  to  speak  —  of  that 
vast  Eastern  region  that  was  naming  with  Oriental 
gold.  There  must  be  a  passage  from  the  west  that 
opened  into  the  Indian  Sea.  The  coast  of  Paria 
stretched  on  toward  the  west,  the  southern  coast  of 
Cuba  extended  in  the  same  direction,  and  the  cur 
rents  of  the  Caribbean  Sea  seemed  to  indicate  that 
at  some  point  still  farther  west  there  was  a  strait  that 
connected  the  waters  of  the  Atlantic  and  the  Indian 
Ocean.  To  discover  such  a  passage  was  an  ambition 
worthy  even  of  the  lofty  spirits  of  Columbus.  He 


THE  FOURTH   VOYAGE.  219 

believed  that  somewhere  west  or  southwest  of  the 
lands  he  had  discovered  such  a  strait  would  be  found ; 
and  it  was  to  find  such  a  passage  that  he  resolved 
to  undertake  a  fourth  voyage. 

Columbus  appears  to  have  remained  at  Granada 
with  the  court  from  December  of  1499  until  late  in 
the  year  1501.  He  then  repaired  to  Seville,  where 
he  was  able  within  a  few  months  to  fit  out  an  explor 
ing  squadron  of  four  ships.  The  insignificant  size  of 
vessels  of  those  days  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact 
that,  according  to  Fernando,  the  largest  of  the  ships 
was  of  seventy  tons'  burden,  and  the  smallest  of  fifty. 
The  crew  consisted  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  and 
boys,  among  whom  were  the  Admiral's  brother,  Don 
Bartholomew,  and  his  son  Fernando,  the  historian. 

There  were  long  and  unaccountable  delays,  and 
the  fleet  did  not  sail  from  Cadiz  before  the  9th  of 
May,  1502.  Stopping  for  further  supplies  at  St. 
Catherine's  and  Arzilla,  as  well  as  at  the  Grand 
Canary  and  Martinique,  it  was  not  until  the  25th 
that  the  westward  voyage  for  the  Indies  was  fairly 
begun.  The  first  design  was  to  go  directly  to  the 
coast  of  Paria ;  but  although  the  voyage  was  an  un 
usually  smooth  one,  Columbus,  declaring  one  of  the 
vessels  to  be  unseaworthy,  or  at  least  to  be  in  great 
need  of  repairs,  decided  to  make  for  St.  Domingo  in 
order  to  effect  an  exchange  of  vessels.  This  port 
was  safely  reached  before  the  end  of  June ;  but  -  the 
object  of  his  coming  was  destined  to  be  speedily 
frustrated. 

To  avoid  the  consequences  of  a  surprise,  Columbus 


220  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

had  taken  the  precaution  to  send  one  of  his  captains 
with  despatches  to  inform  Ovando  of  his  approach 
and  the  nature  of  his  errand.     Besides  referring  to 
the   condition   of  one   of  the   ships,   he   begged   the 
privilege  of  temporary  shelter  for  his  fleet.    Columbus 
himself,  in  his  letter,  says  nothing  of  any  motive,  ex 
cepting  his  desire  to  purchase  a  vessel  to  take  the 
place  of  the  one  that  had  become  disabled ;  but  Fer 
nando   attributes  to   him   the   additional   purpose   of 
securing  shelter  from  a  violent  storm  which  he  saw 
to  be  impending.     According  to  his   son's   doubtful 
authority,  the  Admiral  even  ventured  to  advise  that 
the  departure  of  the  fleet  about  to  sail  for  Spain,  with 
the  treasures  that  Bobadilla  had  collected,  should  be 
delayed  until  the  coming  storm  was  past.     Columbus 
himself,  however,  never  made  any  such  claim.     But 
no   part   of  the   message  was  of  any  avail.     It  was 
evident  that  the  new  commander,  Ovando,  who  had 
now  been    several    months   in   power,   was    not   free 
from   ill-will   toward   the   Admiral.     Las   Casas  is  of 
the  opinion  that  he  had  received  secret  instructions 
from  the  sovereigns  not  to  admit  the  Admiral  to  the 
island.     It  seems  certain  that  at  that  time  San  Do 
mingo   abounded   with    enemies    of   Columbus,    and 
the  decision  may  have  been  reached  simply  by  con 
siderations  of  prudence.     The  hospitality  of  the  har 
bour  was  refused,  and  the  outgoing  fleet  of  eighteen 
sail  was  not  detained. 

Denied  the  privilege  of  the  harbour,  Columbus  drew 
his  little  fleet  up  under  the  shelter  of  the  island.  On 
the  last  day  of  June  a  terrible  hurricane  broke  upon 


THE  FOURTH  VOYAGE.  221 

them.  The  vessels  were  torn  from  their  moorings, 
and  driven  apart  into  the  wide  sea.  Each  of  the 
ships  lost  sight  of  the  others,  and  each  supposed  that 
all  the  others  were  lost.  The  fury  of  the  winds  and 
waves  continued  throughout  many  days  and  nights ; 
and  such  was  the  raging  tumult  of  the  elements  that  it 
seemed  impossible  for  a  single  vessel  to  escape.  By 
what  was  considered  a  miraculous  interposition  of 
Providence,  however,  all  the  ships  of  Columbus  out 
rode  the  storm.  The  fact  that  the  "  unseavvorthy  " 
vessel  survived  with  the  others,  gives  colour  to  the 
suspicion  that  the  claim  of  unseaworthiness  was  only 
a  pretence  for  the  purpose  of  getting  access  to  the 
port.  The  vessel  which  the  Admiral  commanded  was 
driven  as  far  as  Jamaica ;  and  if  we  may  believe  the 
sweeping  and  unqualified  language  of  the  Admiral, 
"  during  sixty  days  there  was  no  cessation  of  the 
tempest,  which  was  one  continuation  of  rain,  thun 
der,  and  lightning."  In  this  same  connection  Co 
lumbus  writes  to  the  sovereigns :  "  Eighty-eight  days 
did  this  fearful  tempest  continue,  during  which  I  was 
at  sea,  and  saw  neither  sun  nor  stars.  My  ships  lay 
exposed,  with  sails  torn ;  and  anchors,  cables,  rigging, 
boats,  and  a  great  quantity  of  provisions  were  lost.  My 
people  were  very  weak  and  humbled  in  spirit,  many 
of  them  promising  to  lead  a  religious  life,  and  all 
making  vows  and  promising  to  perform  pilgrimages, 
while  some  of  them  would  frequently  go  to  their 
messmates  to  make  confession.  Other  tempests  have 
been  experienced,  but  never  of  so  long  a  duration  or 
so  fearful  as  this." 


222  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

But  if  the  Admiral  was  finally  successful  in  bringing 
the  shattered  remains  of  his  fleet  together,  it  was  not 
until  the  i2th  of  September  that  they  reached  the 
place  of  safety  and  promise  to  which  the  commander 
gave  the  name  Gracios  a  Dios.  It  was  far  otherwise 
with  the  larger  squadron.  The  commander,  after  re 
fusing  to  heed  the  predictions  of  the  Admiral,  had 
just  set  out  for  Spain.  On  board  were  Bobadilla  and 
Roldan,  as  well  as  the  others  that  had  taken  a  promi 
nent  part  in  accusing  Columbus,  and  securing  his 
arrest  and  imprisonment.  The  vessels  were  also  laden 
with  so  much  gold  and  other  articles  of  value  as  a 
relentless  avarice  and  cruelty  could  bring  together  to 
justify  the  administration.  The  details  of  the  disaster 
have  not  been  preserved.  All  that  we  know  is  that 
of  the  eighteen  vessels  only  four  escaped  complete 
destruction.  Every  important  personage  on  board 
the  fleet  was  lost.  Of  the  four  less  unfortunate  ships, 
three  were  in  such  a  shattered  condition  that  they 
were  obliged  to  return  to  San  Domingo,  while  only 
one,  "The  Needle,"  was  able  to  make  its  way  to 
Spain.  To  the  unquestioning  religious  faith  of  the 
time,  the  proof  of  providential  direction  was  made 
complete  by  the  singular  fact  that  the  gold  on  board 
"The  Needle,"  the  poorest  vessel  of  the  fleet,  was 
the  portion  that  belonged  to  Columbus.  Las  Casas 
regards  the  event  as  a  signal  example  of  those  awful 
judgments  with  which  Providence  sometimes  over 
whelms  those  who  have  incurred  divine  displeasure. 

For  a  knowledge  of  the  explorations  of  Columbus 
during  the  fourth  voyage  we  are  indebted  to  a  very 


THE  FOURTH   VOYAGE.  223 

elaborate  letter  of  the  Admiral  himself,  and  to  the 
accounts  by  Fernando,  Las  Casas,  and  Porras,  all  of 
whom  were,  at  the  time,  either  with  the  Admiral  or  at 
San  Domingo.  The  accounts  do  not  agree  in  all  par 
ticulars,  but  essentially  they  are  not  unlike.  As  to 
the  general  course  of  the  expedition,  and  the  reasons 
for  the  course  taken,  there  is  substantial  agreement. 

At  the  end  of  the  succession  of  storms  in  the  autumn 
of  1502  Columbus  found  himself  among  the  islands 
south  of  Cuba.  The  way  was  now  open  for  the  prose 
cution  of  the  design  which  had  led  to  the  organization 
of  the  expedition.  He  was  in  search  of  an  open  pass 
age.  His  idea,  of  course,  could  not  have  been  very 
clearly  defined  ;  for  he  still  believed  that  the  islands  he 
had  already  visited  were  only  the  remote  edge  of  the 
Asiatic  continent.  As  yet  he  had  no  reason  for  definite 
belief  as  to  whether  Cuba  was  an  island  or  was  a  part 
of  the  mainland ;  though,  as  we  have  already  seen, 
he  had  once  required  his  crew  to  swear  on  their  re 
turn  that  it  was  the  mainland,  under  penalty  of  having 
their  tongues  wrenched  out  in  case  of  disobedience. 
As  his  purpose  now  was  avowedly  that  of  an  explorer 
pure  and  simple,  it  would  seem  that  three  ways  were 
clearly  open  to  him.  He  had  already  in  his  second 
voyage  made  himself  sufficiently  familiar  with  eastern 
Cuba  to  know  that  whether  an  island  or  a  part  of  the 
mainland,  it  was  a  vast  projection  into  the  east ;  and 
he  must  have  inferred  that  its  relations  with  the  re 
gions  beyond  could  most  easily  and  naturally  be  ascer 
tained  by  sailing  in  a  westerly  direction,  either  along 
the  northern  or  along  the  southern  coast.  The  other 


224  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

course  open  to  him  was  a  bold  push  for  new  regions 
by  sailing  into  the  open  sea  to  the  southwest.  The 
obvious  disadvantage  of  this  course  was  the  fact  that 
whatever  might  be  discovered,  the  relations  of  the 
new  regions  to  those  already  explored  would  still  be 
involved  in  mystery.  Whether  Cuba  were  an  island 
or  a  part  of  the  continent,  could  not  in  this  way  be 
determined.  In  the  way  of  promised  advantages, 
moreover,  this  direction  would  seem  to  have  held  out 
no  greater  inducements  than  either  of  the  others.  If 
he  had  sailed  along  the  northern  coast  of  Cuba,  he 
would  have  determined  the  fact  of  its  insularity,  and 
then  would  have  been  free  to  explore  farther  for  the 
mainland.  But  the  more  promising  course  was  on 
the  other  side  of  the  island ;  for  in  this  way  the 
source  of  the  currents,  on  which  the  navigator  placed 
so  much  reliance,  could  have  been  traced,  —  or  at 
least  it  could  have  been  determined  whether  the 
phenomenal  flow  of  waters  originated,  as  Columbus 
supposed,  in  an  open  strait.  The  least  promising 
course  of  all  was  the  abandonment  of  Cuba  and  the 
striking  out  of  an  independent  course  to  the  south 
west  ;  for  when  land  should  be  reached,  there  could 
be  no  determination  whether  the  new  coast  had  any 
connection  with  the  land  already  discovered,  and  it 
would  still  be  undetermined  whether  the  strait  for 
which  he  was  searching,  if  it  existed  at  all,  lay  to  the 
east  or  to  the  west  of  the  new  landfall.  But  this 
least  promising  course  was  the  one  Columbus  deter 
mined  to  take.  It  was  a  great  blunder,  for  which 
no  good  reason  has  ever  been  given. 


THE  FOURTH   VOYAGE.  22$ 

Sailing  in  a  southwesterly  direction,  the  storms  still 
continuing,  he  at  length  approached  the  mainland  at 
a  small  island  which  he  called  the  Isle  of  Pines.  He 
then  turned  to  the  east,  and  in  a  few  days  reached 
the  coast  of  Honduras.  After  waiting  for  a  short 
time  to  trade  with  the  natives,  he  kept  on  his  way  in 
the  same  general  direction,  in  the  face  of  a  stormy 
current  and  violent  winds.  It  was  not  until  the  i4th 
of  September  that  they  rounded  the  cape  which  in 
thankfulness  to  God  he  named  Cape  Gracios  a  Dios. 
At  this  point  the  current  divided,  a  part  flowing  west, 
and  a  part  south.  Taking  advantage  of  the  latter, 
they  proceeded  down  the  Mosquito  coast  without 
difficulty.  On  the  25th  of  September  they  came  to 
an  inviting  spot  which  he  called  the  "  Garden."  The 
natives  seemed  more  intelligent  than  any  Columbus 
had  yet  seen.  In  order  that  he  might  have  a  supply 
of  interpreters,  the  Admiral  seized  seven  of  them, 
two  of  whom  he  retained  by  force  even  when,  Octo 
ber  5,  he  sailed  away.  This  forcible  detention  was 
greatly  resented  by  the  tribe,  but  the  prayers  of  the 
emissaries  sent  for  their  release  had  no  effect. 

Pushing  still  farther  south  and  east,  the  Spaniards 
came  in  about  ten  days  to  Caribaro  Bay.  The  na 
tives,  who  wore  gold  plates  as  ornaments,  were  defi 
ant,  and  expressed  their  unwelcoming  mood  by  blasts 
upon  conch-shells  and  the  brandishing  of  spears. 
The  Spanish  lombards,  however,  soon  brought  them 
to  a  more  submissive  spirit.  A  little  farther  along, 
the  vessels  came  to  Varagua,  a  territory  lying  just  west 
of  the  Isthmus  of  Darien.  Here  the  Admiral  heard 
glowing  accounts  of  gold  not  far  away.  His  inter- 
'5 


226  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

preters  told  him  that  ten  days  inland  the  natives  rev 
elled  in  the  precious  metals  and  all  other  valuable 
commodities.  Had  he  listened  and  obeyed,  he  would 
have  discovered  the  Pacific.  But,  for  once,  he  turned 
a  deaf  ear  to  the  allurement,  and  so  lost  his  oppor 
tunity.  That  the  natives  hinted  at  the  great  waters 
beyond  the  isthmus,  is  plain  from  the  words  of  Co 
lumbus.  He  says  :  "  They  say  that  the  sea  surrounds 
Cuguare,  and  that  ten  days'  journey  from  thence  is 
the  river  Ganges." 

His  farther  voyage  south  brought  no  important  re 
sults.  The  ships  were  worm-eaten,  and  the  crew 
were  clamorous  for  the  gold  of  Varagua.  On  the  5th 
of  December  Columbus  decided  reluctantly  to  retrace 
his  course.  By  one  of  those  singular  adversities  of 
fortune,  the  winds  which  had  hitherto  blown  strongly 
from  the  east  now  veered  and  blew  as  strongly  from 
the  west.  Gale  after  gale  followed.  Columbus  called 
it  the  "Coast  of  Contrasts."  The  situation  of  the 
navigators  became  all  the  more  desperate  through  the 
horrors  of  impending  famine.  Worms  had  made  their 
bread  revolting,  and  the  crew  were  driven  to  catch 
sharks  for  food. 

For  weeks  the  violence  of  the  storms  continued. 
In  attempting  to  make  their  way  back,  a  full  month 
was  taken  up  by  the  Spaniards  in  passing  a  hundred 
miles.  The  whole,  winter  was  consumed  without 
important  results.  At  Varagua  earnest  hopes  were 
entertained  that  the  long- sought,  but  ever- elusive 
gold-fields  were  at  length  to  be  found.  Columbus 
says  that  he  saw  more  indications  of  gold  in  two 
days  than  he  had  seen  in  Hispaniola  in  four  years;' 


THE  FOURTH  VOYAGE.  227 

he  therefore  decided  upon  a  settlement,  and  began  to 
build  houses.  Eighty  members  of  the  crew  were 
to  be  left  to  establish  a  permanent  footing. 

But  misfortune  succeeded  misfortune.  The  natives 
began  to  organize  for  the  purpose  of  making  such  a 
settlement  impossible.  In  one  of  their  conflicts  the 
cacique,  known  as  the  Quibian,  was  taken  prisoner  by 
the  Adekntado.  He  was  intrusted  to  the  care  of  a 
Spanish  officer,  who  imprudently  yielded  to  the  chiefs 
persuasions  to  remove  his  shackles.  The  consequence 
was  that  in  an  unguarded  moment  the  cacique  sprang 
over  the  side  of  the  boat  and  dived  to  the  bottom. 
The  night  was  dark,  and  as  he  came  to  the  sur 
face  he  was  not  detected.  Columbus  believed  him 
drowned ;  but  it  soon  appeared  that  he  had  reached 
the  shore  and  organized  so  formidable  an  opposi 
tion  to  the  settlement  as  to  place  the  colony  in 
extreme  peril. 

Provisions  and  ammunition  now  began  to  run  short. 
The  Admiral  was  tortured  with  gout,  and  this  was 
followed  by  a  fever.  While  affairs  were  in  this  con 
dition  a  portion  of  the  prisoners  threw  open  a  hatch 
way,  and,  thrusting  the  guards  aside,  plunged  into  the 
sea  and  escaped.  Those  who  had  failed  to  get  away 
were  thrust  back  into  the  hold  ;  but  in  the  morning 
it  was  found  that  they  had  all  committed  suicide  by 
hanging.  The  resolute  spirit  thus  shown  was  a  sad 
foreboding  of  disaster.  The  sea  was  so  rough  that 
for  days  there  could  be  no  communication  between 
the  Admiral  on  ship  and  the  Adelantado  on  shore. 
When  at  length  a  brave  swimmer  succeeded  in  reach 
ing  the  land,  he  found  a  portion  of  Bartholomew's 


228  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

force  in  revolt.  The  mutineers  formed  a  plan  to 
desert  the  commander  and  effect  an  escape  to  the 
ships.  There  was  nothing  to  do  but  to  rescue  the 
colony,  if  possible,  and/abandon  the  coast. 

When  affairs  appeared  to  be  in  a  most  hopeless 
condition,  the  tempest  abated,  and  fair  weather  came 
on.  One  of  the  caravels,  however,  had  been  stranded 
and  wrecked.  In  order  to  bring  off  the  stores  and 
the  colony,  a  raft  was  constructed,  and  after  long  ef 
fort  the  survivors  were  rescued  and  taken  aboard  the 
remaining  vessels.  One  of  these,  however,  proved  to 
be  so  much  worm-eaten  and  otherwise  disabled  that 
it  had  to  be  abandoned.  Taking  the  scanty  stores 
into  the  two  remaining  caravels,  the  adventurers  now 
turned  their  prows  toward  Hispaniola. 

The  course  of  the  vessels,  however,  in  order  to  meet 
the  strong  westerly  currents,  was  eastward.  The  crew 
were  thrown  into  consternation  by  the  thought  that  the 
Admiral,  notwithstanding  the  unseaworthy  condition 
of  the  ships,  was  making  for  Spain.  But  Columbus 
had  no  such  purpose.  His  design  was  to  zigzag  his 
course  in  such  a  manner  that  none  of  the  crew  could 
find  the  way  back  to  the  gold  coast.  He  says  that  he 
remembered  how  a  former  crew  had  returned  to  the 
pearl-fisheries  of  Paria ;  and  he  now  wrote :  "  None 
of  them  can  explain  whither  I  went,  nor  whence  I 
came.  They  do  not  know  the  way  to  return  thither." 

Having  accomplished  his  bewildering  purpose,  the 
Admiral  now  turned  to  the  northwest.  Falling  into 
the  currents,  the  vessels  floated  beyond  Hispaniola ; 
and  on  the  3Oth  of  May  they  found  themselves  in  the 
group  of  islands  which  Columbus  had  already  called 


THE   FOURTH   VOYAGE.  229 

"The  Gardens."  That  his  old  delusion  was  still  kept 
up,  is  evident  from  his  declaration  that  he  "  had  come 
to  Mango,  which  is  near  Cathay." 

Here  again  a  succession  of  storms  came  on  and 
threatened  to  shatter  the  crazy  hulks  to  pieces. 
Columbus  tried  to  find  shelter  in  the  lee  of  one  of 
the  islands ;  but  he  lost  all  his  anchors  save  one,  and 
the  crews  were  able  to  keep  the  ships  afloat  only 
by  "  three  pumps,  and  the  use  of  their  pots  and  ket 
tles."  Evidently  this  condition  of  affairs  could  not 
long  continue.  On  the  23d  of  June  he  reached 
Jamaica,  and  a  little  later  he  saw  no  other  course  than 
to  run  both  of  his  ships  aground.  The  first  he  ran 
ashore  on  the  23d  of  July  ;  and  on  the  izth  of  August 
he  brought  the  other  alongside,  and  managed  to  lash 
them  together.  The  tide  soon  filled  them  with  water. 
He  built  cabins  on  the  forecastles,  in  which  the  crew 
could  live  until  they  could  find  relief. 

The  navigators'  scanty  supply  of  food  was  ruined, 
and  their  first  thought,  therefore,  was  to  barter  for 
supplies  with  the  natives.  Fortunately,  they  were 
successful.  Diego  Mendez,  the  commander  of  one  of 
the  vessels,  took  the  matter  in  hand,  and  making  the 
circuit  of  the  island  in  company  with  three  other 
Spaniards,  bargained  advantageously  with  several  of 
the  caciques. 

The  next  thought  of  the  Admiral  was  to  send  to 
Ovando  for  a  rescuing  vessel.  He  proposed  to  Men 
dez  that  he  should  go  in  an  open  boat,  as  the  only 
possible  means  of  establishing  a  connection  with  San 
Domingo.  Mendez  offered  to  go  in  case  no  one  else 


230  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

would  volunteer.  The  others  all  held  back.  He  then 
fitted  up  a  row-boat,  and  taking  one  other  Spaniard 
and  six  natives  as  oarsmen,  committed  himself  to  a 
voyage  of  nearly  two  hundred  miles  in  those  tempes 
tuous  waters. 

To  Mendez,  Columbus  committed  a  long  letter  ad 
dressed  to  the  monarchs  of  Spain,  —  the  very  letter, 
no  doubt,  to  which  we  are  indebted  for  much  of 
our  knowledge  of  this  disastrous  voyage.  It  bears 
date  July  7,  1503,  and  may  well  be  regarded  as  the 
unmistakable  evidence  of  a  distracted,  if  not  of  an 
unbalanced,  mind. 

Though  the  writer  had  much  to  say  of  the  voyage, 
the  most  prominent  characteristic  of  the  writing  was 
its  rambling  and  incoherent  references  to  the  troubles 
of  his  earlier  years.  It  was  a  veritable  appeal  ad 
misericordiam,  and  was  full  of  inaccuracies,  not  to  say 
positive  misstatements.  He  says,  — 

"  I  was  twenty-eight  years  old  when  I  came  into  your 
Highnesses'  services,  and  now  I  have  not  a  hair  upon  me 
that  is  not  gray,  my  body  is  infirm,  and  all  that  was  left 
to  me,  as  well  as  to  my  brother,  has  been  taken  away  and 
sold,  even  to  the  frock  that  I  wore,  to  my  great  dishonour. 
Solitary  in  my  trouble,  sick,  and  in  daily  expectation  of 
death,  I  am  surrounded  by  millions  of  hostile  savages  full 
of  cruelty.  Weep  for  me  whoever  has  charity,  truth,  and 
justice." 

Surely  this  is  not  the  outpouring  ef  a  great  soul. 
On  the  contrary,  it  is  simply  pitiful ;  for  it  is  impos 
sible  to  forget  that  in  earlier  years  he  had  described 
these  "  millions  of  hostile  savages  "  as  the  embodi- 


THE   FOURTH   VOYAGE.  231 

ment  of  hospitable  kindness.  It  was  not  until  the 
innocent  natives  had  learned  by  bitter  experience  that 
there  was  no  device  of  avarice  or  cruelty  or  licentious 
ness  of  which  they  were  not  made  the  victims  that 
their  unsuspecting  hospitality  was  turned  into  a  pru 
dent  hostility.  If  Columbus  was  only  twenty-eight 
when  he  entered  the  service  of  the  Spanish  monarchs, 
he  must  have  been  born  in  1456  ;  he  must  have  been 
only  eighteen  when  he  had  the  correspondence  with 
Toscanelli ;  and  at  the  time  of  his  writing,  he  must 
have  been  only  forty-seven.  Recurring  to  geographi 
cal  affairs,  he  writes  :  "  The  world  is  but  small ;  out 
of  seven  divisions  of  it,  the  dry  part  occupies  six,  and 
the  seventh  is  entirely  covered  with  water.  I  say  that 
the  world  is  not  so  large  as  vulgar  opinion  makes  it." 
Referring  to  his  search  for  gold,  he  exclaims  :  "  Gold 
is  the  most  precious  of  all  commodities  ;  gold  con 
stitutes  treasure ;  and  he  who  possesses  it  has  all  the 
needs  of  this  world,  as  also  the  means  of  rescuing 
souls  from  Purgatory  and  introducing  them  to  the 
enjoyments  of  Paradise." 

After  the  departure  of  Mendez  the  long  months  of 
autumn  and  winter  wore  on.  Columbus  during  much 
of  the  time  was  confined  to  his  bed  by  illness.  Dis 
contents,  and  finally  insubordination,  became  rife. 
The  malcontents  put  themselves  under  the  leadership 
of  Francisco  de  Porras,  a  daring  navigator,  who  at 
one  time  had  commanded  one  of  the  vessels.  On 
the  2d  of  January,  1504,  Porras  appeared  in  the  cabin 
of  the  sick  Admiral.  An  unfortunate  altercation  en 
sued,  which  resulted  in  dividing  the  little  band  into 


232  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

two  hostile  camps.  The  outcome  was  that  Porras  and 
forty-one  others  threw  themselves  into  active  rebellion. 
They  took  forcible  possession  of  ten  canoes,  and  com 
mitted  themselves  to  the  sea  with  the  mad  purpose  of 
going  to  San  Domingo.  A  short  experience,  however, 
was  enough  to  drive  them  back,  and  they  now  devoted 
themselves  actively  to  getting  supplies  from  the  natives 
of  Jamaica.  This  of  course  interfered  greatly  with 
the  comforts  of  Columbus  and  his  little  band.  Indeed 
it  might  have  proved  fatal  but  for  one  of  those  inge 
nious  expedients  of  which  the  mind  of  the  Admiral 
was  so  prolific. 

An  eclipse  of  the  moon  was  to  take  place  on  the 
night  of  February  29,  1504.  Columbus  caused  it 
to  be  widely  circulated  among  the  natives  that  the 
God  of  the  Spaniards  was  greatly  displeased  with 
their  lack  of  loyalty,  and  was  about  to  manifest  his 
displeasure  by  an  obscuration  of  the  moon.  As  the 
eclipse  came  on,  the  words  of  the  Admiral  appeared 
to  be  verified.  The  natives  were  convulsed  with  fear. 
He  now  declared  that  the  divine  anger  would  be  ap 
peased  if  they  would  show  proper  contrition  and 
would  furnish  the  needed  supplies.  The  caciques 
threw  themselves  at  his  feet,  and  promised  everything 
he  might  need.  Just  before  the  moon  was  to  emerge 
from  the  shadow,  he  assured  them  that  the  divine 
wrath  was  placated,  and  that  a  sign  would  soon  be 
manifested.  As  the  eclipse  passed  off,  the  astonish 
ment  and  satisfaction  of  the  poor  wretches  were  com 
plete.  From  that  time  Columbus  had  no  lack  of 
sufficient  supplies. 


THE  FOURTH   VOYAGE.  233 

The  expedition  of  Mendez  was  not  without  the 
most  trying  vicissitudes.  Almost  immediately  after 
starting,  the  little  bark  encountered  so  heavy  a  sea 
that  it  was  obliged  to  turn  back.  A  few  days  later, 
however,  another  boat  was  ready,  and  Mendez  com- 
mitted  himself  a  second  time  to  this  daring  enter 
prise.  Rough  weather  was  encountered,  and  for  a 
considerable  period  it  seemed  that  all  would  be  lost. 
One  of  the  natives  died,  and  his  body  was  cast  into 
the  sea.  But  at  length,  in  four  days  after  leaving  the 
eastern  point  of  Jamaica,  the  Spaniards  reached  the 
port  of  Novissa,  at  the  western  end  of  Hispaniola. 
Mendez  soon  found  that  Ovando,  instead  of  being  at 
San  Domingo,  was  engaged  in  suppressing  a  revolt  in 
the  western  province  of  Zaroyna.  Though  Ovando 
was  not  so  ungracious  as  to  meet  the  question  with  a 
point-blank  refusal,  he  showed  no  disposition  to  ren 
der  prompt  assistance.  Thus  it  was  that,  in  spite  of 
all  the  urgency  of  Mendez,  month  after  month  passed 
away  without  action.  It  was  only  after  there  had 
come  to  be  considerable  popular  clamour  in  favour 
of  Columbus  that  Ovando  saw  the  expediency  of 
sending  the  necessary  succour.  It  is  more  than  prob 
able  that  he  would  have  been  relieved  to  find  that  the 
rescuing  ship  had  arrived  too  late.  It  was  not  until 
the  25th  of  June,  1504,  that  the  Admiral  and  his 
little  crew  of  wretched  followers  were  gladdened  by 
the  sight  of  approaching  relief.  It  is  easy  to  under 
stand  how  Columbus,  a  little  later,  could  say  that  in 
no  part  of  his  life  did  he  ever  experience  so  joyful 
a  day ;  for  he  had  never  hoped  to  leave  the  place 


234  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

alive.  More  than  a  year  had  passed  in  the  torment 
ing  experiences  that  followed  the  shipwreck-  on  the 
northern  coast  of  Jamaica. 

Ovando  extended  to  Columbus  a  gracious  show  of 
hospitality  by  making  him  a  guest  in  his  own  house 
hold.  But  there  was  no  real  cordiality.  It  was  not 
long,  indeed,  before  an  active  dispute  arose  over 
an  important  question  of  jurisdiction.  Ovando  de 
manded  the  surrender  of  Porras,  that  he  might  be 
duly  punished  for  his  insurrection.  Columbus  held 
that  however  complete  the  jurisdiction  of  the  governor 
might  be  over  the  island  of  Hispaniola,  it  did  not  ex 
tend  to  the  crew  of  the  Admiral.  Ovando,  though 
he  did  not  formally  yield  the  point,  thought  it  not 
prudent  to  press  the  claim.  There  were  also  im 
portant  differences  in  regard  to  the  pecuniary  rights 
of  Columbus,  whose  agent  had  already  become 
involved  in  serious  difficulties.  From  all  these 
untoward  circumstances  it  became  apparent  that 
the  stay  of  Columbus  could  not  be  advantageously 
prolonged.  Accordingly,  with  such  money  as  he 
could  collect,  he  fitted  out  two  vessels  for  a  home 
ward  voyage.  He  had  arrived  at  San  Domingo  on 
the  i5th  of  August.  On  the  i2th  of  the  following 
month  the  two  vessels  were  ready  for  sea.  Storm 
succeeded  storm,  however,  and  the  ship  of  the  Admi 
ral  had  to  be  sent  back  for  repairs.  After  a  very 
tempestuous  voyage,  Columbus,  with  his  brother  and 
son,  entered  the  port  of  San  Lucar  on  the  yth  of 
November,  1504. 


LAST  DAYS.  — DEATH.— CHARACTER.      235 


CHAPTER   VII. 

LAST  DAYS. DEATH.  CHARACTER. 

THE  career  of  Columbus  was  now  practically  at  an 
end.  From  the  port  he  went  to  Seville,  where,  broken 
in  health  as  well  as  in  spirit,  he  was  obliged  to  remain 
for  nearly  four  months.  We  find  that  on  the  23d  of 
February,  1505,  a  royal  order  was  issued  to  furnish 
him  with  a  mule,  that  he  might  have  an  easy  seat  in 
his  journey  toward  the  court  at  Segovia.  He  appears 
in  the  course  of  the  year  to  have  found  his  way  to 
Salamanca,  and  then  to  have  followed  the  court  to 
Valladolid  ;  but  farther  he  was  not  able  to  go. 

During  the  year  and  a  half  that  was  left  to  him  after 
his  return  from  the  fourth  voyage,  Columbus  exerted 
himself  constantly  and  in  various  ways  to  improve  his 
personal  interests.  He  had  much  leisure  for  writing ; 
and,  fortunately,  his  letters  have  been  preserved  and 
published  in  the  collection  of  Navarrete.  It  would 
perhaps  have  been  better  for  his  fame  if  they  had  not 
survived ;  for  while  the  errors  and  contradictions 
perplex  every  thoughtful  reader,  the  spirit  breathed 
throughout  is  one  of  petulancy  and  comprehensive 
censure.  He  rehearsed  in  various  forms  the  story  of 
his  early  efforts,  of  his  unappreciated  labours,  of  his 


236  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

services  in  behalf  of  the  Crown,  and  of  failure  to  re 
ceive  the  proper  recognition  and  reward.  Unfortu 
nately,  the  death  of  Queen  Isabella  occurred  only  a 
few  days  after  his  return.  This  melancholy  event  not 
only  withdrew  from  the  service  of  Columbus  the  most 
important  of  all  patrons,  but  it  so  absorbed  all  the 
attention  of  the  court  that  his  claims  received  no 
attention  whatever.  To  his  repeated  importunities 
no  answer  came  for  some  months.  The  king  had 
always  been  either  indifferent  or  inimical.  The  state 
ments  of  Porras  had  been  received,  and  they  had 
evidently  made  an  impression  unfavourable  to  Colum 
bus.  The  inference  from  the  attitude  of  the  court  is 
inevitable  that  in  the  course  of  the  two  and  a  half 
years  of  the  Admiral's  absence  during  his  fourth  voyage 
his  popularity  had  so  declined  that  he  had  almost 
ceased  to  be  regarded  as  a  person  of  importance.  It 
is  certain  that  the  complaints  against  him  had  now 
made  so  strong  an  impression  on  the  king  and  on 
those  in  authority  that  there  was  no  disposition  to 
listen  to  his  importunities. 

Still,  Columbus  continued  to  write.  In  one  letter 
he  arraigned  the  administration  of  Ovando,  charging 
it  with  the  same  crimes  that  had  so  often  been  alleged 
against  himself.  He  declared  that  the  governor  was 
detested  by  all ;  that  a  suitable  person  could  restore 
order  in  three  months  ;  that  the  abuses  should  at  once 
be  remedied  by  the  appointment  of  a  judicious  suc 
cessor  ;  that  new  fortresses  should  be  at  once  built,  — 
"all  of  which,"  he  says,  "  I  can  do  in  his  Highness's 
service ;  and  any  other,  not  having  my  personal  inter- 


LAST  DA  VS.  —  DEA  TH.  —  CHAR  A  CTER.   23  7 

est  at  stake,  cannot  do  it  as  well."  At  another  time" 
he  urges  Diego  to  sue  the  king  for  a  mandatory  letter 
forcing  Ovando  to  make  immediate  payment  of  Co- 
lumbus's  share  of  the  revenues.  Concerning  Vespu- 
•  cius,  who  had  already  returned  from  his  second  voyage 
and  written  the  famous  letter  of  Sept.  4,  1504,  he 
wrote  in  the  following  terms  :  "  Within  two  days  I 
have  talked  with  Americus  Vespucius.  .  .  .  He  has 
always  manifested  a  disposition  to  be  friendly  to  me. 
Fortune  has  not  always  favoured  him,  and  in  this  he  is 
not  different  from  many  others.  His  ventures  have 
not  always  been  as  successful  as  he  would  wish.  He 
left  me  full  of  the  kindest  purposes  toward  me,  and 
will  do  anything  for  me  that  is  in  his  power.  I  did 
not  know  what  to  tell  him  as  to  the  way  in  which  he 
could  help  me,  because  I  knew  not  why  he  had  been 
called  to  court.  Find  out  what  he  can  do,  and  he  will 
do  it ;  but  so  manage  that  he  will  not  be  suspected 
of  aiding  me."  This  letter  is  of  most  interesting  sig 
nificance,  because  at  the  very  moment  of  its  date,  the 
letter  of  Vespucius  was  making  the  impression  upon 
Europe  which  was  to  eclipse  the  renown  of  Columbus 
and  give  the  name  of  its  author  to  the  western  conti 
nent.  That  there  was  any  purpose  on  the  part  of 
Vespucius  inimical  to  the  fame  of  Columbus  there  is 
no  reason  whatever  to  believe. 

The  multitudinous  letters  of  Columbus  seem  to 
have  made  no  impression.  Las  Casas  says  :  "  The 
more  he  petitioned,  the  more  bland  the  king  was  in 
avoiding  any  conclusion."  The  same  author  further 
declares  that  Ferdinand  "  hoped,  by  exhausting  the 


238  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

patience  of  the  Admiral,  to  induce  him  to  accept  some 
estates  in  Castile  in  place  of  his  powers  in  the  Indies. 
But  Columbus  rejected  all  such  offers  with  indignation." 

During  the  later  months  of  1505,  and  the  early 
months  of  1506,  it  was  becoming  more  and  more 
apparent  that  preparations  for  the  end  must  not  be 
long  delayed.  The  mind  of  the  Admiral  came  to  be 
much  occupied  with  the  testamentary  disposition  of 
his  rights  and  titles.  Property  in  hand  he  really 
seems  to  have  had  none  ;  but  he  still  was  not  without 
hope  that  in  a  final  settlement  his  claims  in  the  Indies 
would  be  fully  recognized.  Accordingly,  in  his  last 
will,  which  was  duly  signed  and  witnessed  on  the  igth 
of  May,  1506,  he  made  disposition  of  his  titles  and 
his  rights.  He  confirmed  his  legitimate  son,  Diego, 
his  heir ;  but  in  default  of  heirs  of  Diego,  his  rights 
were  to  pass  to  his  illegitimate  son,  Fernando.  If 
in  this  line  there  should  be  a  like  default,  his  prop 
erty  was  to  go  to  his  brother,  the  Adelantado,  and  his 
male  descendants.  If  these  all  should  fail,  the  estate 
was  to  go  to  the  female  line  in  a  similar  succession. 
Two  other  provisions  of  the  will  are  worthy  of  note. 
He  makes  his  old  scheme  of  a  crusade  to  recover  the 
Holy  Sepulchre  contingent  upon  the  income  of  the 
estate.  He  then  provides  for  the  maintenance  of 
Beatrix  Enriquez,  the  mother  of  Fernando,  and  says : 
"  Let  this  be  done  for  the  discharge  of  my  conscience, 
for  it  weighs  heavy  on  my  soul,  —  the  reasons  for 
which  I  am  not  here  permitted  to  give?' 

It  was  on  the  2Oth  of  May,  1506,  the  very  next  day 
after  signing  the  will,  that  the  restless  soul  of  Colum- 


LAST  DA  YS.  —  DEA  TH.  —  CHAR  A  CTER.      239 

bus  passed  away.  His  death  occurred  at  Valladolid, 
in  a  house  that  is  still  shown  to  interested  travellers. 
It  is  melancholy  to  add  that  the  event  made  no  im 
pression  either  upon  the  city  or  upon  the  nation. 
We  are  told,  as  the  result  of  the  most  careful  search, 
that  the  only  official  document  that  makes  mention  of 
the  decease  of  Columbus  is  one  written  by  the  mon 
arch  to  Ovando,  bearing  date  of  the  2d  of  June. 
Neither  Bernaldez  nor  Oviedo  designates  the  day  of 
the  month.  By  the  chroniclers  of  the  time,  as  Har- 
risse  has  said,  the  event  seems  to  have  passed  "  com 
pletely  unheeded." 

Nor  is  there  any  certainty  as  to  the  place  of  burial. 
In  the  will  which  Columbus  signed  just  before  his 
death  he  indicated  a  desire  to  have  his  remains  taken 
to  San  Domingo.  It  has  generally  been  supposed, 
however,  that  a  temporary  interment  took  place  in  a 
Franciscan  convent  at  Valladolid.  The  will  of  Diego 
seems  to  indicate  that  as  early  as  the  year  1513  the 
coffin  containing  his  remains  was  conveyed  to  Seville, 
where,  for  nearly  or  quite  thirty  years,  it  rested  in  the 
Carthusian  convent  of  Las  Cuevas.  Royal  provisions 
relating  to  the  removal  to  San  Domingo  have  been 
preserved,  bearing  dates  of  1537,  1539,  and  1540. 
From  these  orders  and  from  the  fact  that  the  cathe 
dral  at  San  Domingo  was  completed  in  the  year  1541, 
the  inference  has  been  drawn  that  the  transfer  took 
place  in  that  year  or  a  little  later.  There  is  evidence 
that  the  removal  had  been  accomplished  before  the 
year  1549. 

The  controversy  that  has  taken  place  over  the  pres- 


240  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

ent  resting-place  of  the  remains  is  perhaps  enough  to 
justify  a  somewhat  detailed  statement  of  the  several 
points  at  issue. 

Columbus's  son  Diego  and  his  grandson  Luis  died  re 
spectively  in  1526  and  1572.  Their  remains  were  also 
transferred  to  the  Cathedral  at  San  Domingo ;  though 
at  what  date  there  is  considerable  uncertainty.  Some 
rather  obscure  records  have  been  discovered  in  Spain 
which  have  been  thought  to  indicate  that  the  removal 
took  place  about  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  Nearly  all  that  we  are  justified  in  asserting 
without  qualification  is  the  fact  that,  from  the  period 
of  this  removal  until  near  the  end  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  the  cathedral  at  San  Domingo  contained  the 
remains  of  Columbus  as  well  as  those  of  his  son  and 
his  grandson. 

So  far  as  can  now  be  ascertained,  there  were  no 
inscriptions  on  the  exterior  of  any  of  the  vaults.  The 
only  guide  to  the  site  of  the  exact  resting-place  of 
the  Admiral  was  a  memorandum  in  the  records  of 
the  cathedral  to  the  effect  that  the  body  rested  in  the 
chancel  at  the  right  of  the  high  altar.  But  as  this 
memorandum  bears  date  of  1676,  it  could  hardly  be 
regarded  as  anything  more  than  the  record  of  a  tra 
dition.  During  the  long  period  between  the  early 
part  of  the  sixteenth  century  and  the  end  of  the 
eighteenth,  the  floors  of  the  cathedral  were  seveial 
times  repaired ;  but,  so  far  as  is  known,  the  vaults 
were  not  disturbed  or  even  discovered. 

In  the  course  of  the  French  Revolution  the  tumult 
into  which  San  Domingo  was  thrown  resulted  in  giv- 


LAST  DA  YS.  —  DEA  TH.  —  CHARA CTER.      241 

ing  the  French  so  much  influence  that  by  the  treaty 
of  Basle,  signed  on  the  22(1  of  July,  1795,  Spain 
was  obliged  to  cede  to  France  the  western  portion  of 
the  island.  The  natural  pride  of  the  Spaniards,  how 
ever,  inspired  them  with  a  praiseworthy  desire  to 
transfer  the  remains  of  the  discoverer  to  Spanish  soil. 
Accordingly,  explorations  were  made  beneath  the 
floor  on  the  right  of  the  altar  of  the  cathedral.  A 
vault  was  found  and  opened,  which  contained  a  small 
leaden  box  and  the  remains  of  a  human  body.  Its 
situation  in  the  cathedral  corresponded  with  the  in 
dications  of  tradition.  The  box  or  casket  was  in  & 
very  dilapidated  condition ;  but  so  far  as  could  be 
discovered,  there  was  no  inscription  upon  it.  No 
doubt,  however,  was  entertained  in  regard  to  its 
genuineness.  The  contents  of  the  vault  were  placed 
in  a  gilded  sarcophagus,  and  with  great  ceremony, 
on  the  1 9th  of  January,  1796,  were  transported  to 
Havana.  Here  they  were  placed  near  the  high  altar 
of  the  cathedral,  where,  in  1822,  the  monument  was 
erected  which  still  adorns  the  spot  and  commemorates 
the  discoveries  of  the  Admiral. 

For  nearly  a  century  no  question  was  raised  as  to 
the  genuineness  of  the  remains  thus  exhumed  and 
carried  to  Havana.  But  in  1877,  in  the  course  of 
some  changes  in  the  chancel  of  the  cathedral  at  San 
Domingo,  two  other  graves  were  opened.  Each  con 
tained  a  leaden  casket.  That  on  the  left  side  of  the 
altar  bore  an  inscription  which,  translated  into  English, 
runs  :  "  To  the  Admiral  Don  Luis  Columbus,  duke  of 
Jamaica,  marquis  of  Veragua."  The  inscriptions  on 
16 


242  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

the  casket  which  was  discovered  on  the  right  of  the 
altar  were  of  far  more  interest  and  importance. 

But  before  indicating  in  detail  the  significance  of 
this  discovery,  let  us  take  note  of  the  relative  position 
of  the  vaults.  The  one  containing  the  casket  with 
the  inscription  of  Luis  upon  it,  was  at  the  extreme 
left  of  the  chancel  and  against  the  wall ;  while  that 
containing  the  one  which  now  appeared  to  hold  the 
remains  of  the  discoverer  was  next  the  wall  on  the 
opposite  side.  Adjoining  this  newly  opened  vault,  and 
between  it  and  the  altar,  was  the  narrower  vault,  the 
contents  of  which  had  been  taken  to  Havana  in  i  796. 
It  is  natural  to  infer  that  the  vault  situated  next  the 
cathedral  wall  was  the  first  one  constructed,  and  that 
the  smaller  and  inner  vault  was  added  at  a  later  day. 

On  the  newly  discovered  casket  were  three  inscrip 
tions  rudely  cut.  On  the  exterior  were  the  three 
letters  "C.  C.  A.," — probably  signifying  "  Cristoval 
Colon,  Almirante."  On  the  outside  of  the  cover  were 
the  abbreviations,  "  D.  de  la  A.  Pre.  Ate.,"  which  have 
been  interpreted  as  standing  for  "  Descubridor  de  la 
America,  Primero  Almirante,  —  "  The  Discoverer  of 
America,  the  first  Admiral."  On  the  inside  of  the 
cover,  in  Gothic  letters,  was  an  abbreviated  inscription 
which  is  commonly  translated  as  "  The  celebrated  and 
extraordinary  man,  Don  Christopher  Columbus." 

It  is  to  be  noted  also  that  there  was  lying  upon  the 
bottom  of  the  casket  a  small  silver  plate  about  three 
inches  in  length  by  one  and  a  third  in  breadth.  Near 
the  ends  of  this  plate  were  two  small  holes  corre 
sponding  with  two  holes  in  the  posterior  wall  of  the 


LAST  DA  YS.  —  DEA  TIL  —  CHAR  A  CTER.      243 

casket.  With  the  plate  were  also  two  screws  that 
corresponded  in  size  with  the  holes  in  the  box  and 
the  plate.  Very  curiously,  the  plate  was  found  to 
have  an  inscription  on  either  side.  One  of  these  was 
simply  "  Cristoval  Colon,"  while  the  other,  in  some 
what  abbreviated  form,  was  "  Ultima  parte  de  los 
restos  del  primero  Almirante  Cristoval  Colon,  Descu- 
bridor,"  — "  The  last  remains  of  the  first  Admiral, 
Christopher  Columbus,  the  Discoverer."  The  signifi 
cance  of  these  two  inscriptions,  as  it  must  have  been 
understood  that  one  of  them  would  be  concealed  by 
resting  against  the  wall  of  the  box,  has  been  the  sub 
ject  of  many  conjectures.  But  the  most  rational  ex 
planation 'is  the  supposition  that  when  the  engraver 
had  incised  the  name  "  Cristoval  Colon"  on  one  side, 
it  was  found  unsatisfactory,  from  its  brevity,  and  ac 
cordingly  the  more  elaborate  inscription  was  placed 
on  the  other  side.  With  the  contents  of  this  leaden 
box  there  was  also  found  a  corroded  musket-ball.  This 
bullet  is  supposed  to  have  been  in  the  body  of  Colum 
bus  at  the  time  of  his  burial.  We  have  no  account  of 
his  having  been  wounded  while  he  was  in  Portugal  or 
Spain,  or  in  the  course  of  any  of  his  voyages ;  but  in 
his  letter  to  the  king  written  from  Jamaica  while  on 
his  fourth  voyage,  he  says  that  his  wound  "  had 
broken  out  afresh."  This  expression  has  led  Cronau 
to  conjecture  that  in  some  of  his  earlier  maritime 
experiences,  the  Admiral  had  received  a  bullet  which 
he  carried  in  his  body  to  the  end  of  his  life. 

The  discovery  of  this  casket  very  naturally  awak 
ened  the  greatest  interest  in  San  Domingo,  and  in- 


244  CHRISTOPHER    COLUMBUS. 

deed  wherever  the  story  of  Columbus  was  known. 
The  bishop  of  the  cathedral,  recognizing  the  import 
ance  of  the  event,  invited  to  a  formal  inspection  of 
the  remains,  not  only  the  representatives  of  the  civil 
government,  but  also  all  the  foreign  consuls  that  were 
present  in  San  Domingo.  These  united  in  the  belief 
that  the  bones  of  the  Admiral  were  still  in  the  cathe 
dral,  and  that  the  remains  which  had  been  carried  to 
Havana  in  1796  were  those  of  his  son  Diego.  Hav 
ing  arrived  at  this  conclusion,  the  authorities  enclosed 
the  casket,  with  its  contents,  in  a  glass  case,  and  locked 
it  with  three  keys,  two  of  which  were  to  be  guarded 
by  members  of  the  Government,  and  one  by  the  bishop. 
They  then  bound  the  glass  case  with  ribbons,  which 
were  carefully  sealed,  not  only  with  the  seals  of  the 
cathedral  and  of  the  Government,  but  also  with  those 
of  all  the  foreign  consuls  then  at  San  Domingo.  Fi 
nally,  they  placed  the  sarcophagus  containing  the  box 
and  the  remains  in  a  side  chapel  of  the  cathedral. 

So  full  an  account  of  this  interesting  discovery  would 
hardly  have  been  appropriate,  but  for  the  controversy 
which  immediately  ensued.  The  Spanish  authorities 
in  the  mother- country  and  in  Cuba  were  very  natu 
rally  reluctant  to  believe,  except  upon  the  most  conclu 
sive  evidence,  that  a  mistake  had  been  made  in  1796. 
The  cry  of  fraud  was  soon  raised.  The  inscrip 
tions,  a  rough  fac-simile  of  which  had  been  made  and 
published  by  the  bishop,  were  declared  to  be  the 
work  of  a  modern  forger.  Pamphlet  after  pamphlet 
was  issued 'from  the  press,  until  there  came  to  be  a 
vq1uminous  literature  on  the  subject. 


LAST  DA  VS.  —  DEA  TH  —  CHARACTER.      245 

Against  the  genuineness  of  the  inscriptions  there 
were  only  two  arguments  of  any  considerable  weight. 
The  first  was  in  the  assertion  that  the  inscriptions 
were  of  too  modern  and  crude  a  nature  to  have  been 
placed  upon  the  casket  in  the  sixteenth  century  by 
those  having  in  charge  the  moving  of  the  remains. 
The  other  was  the  presence  of  the  abbreviation  which 
was  supposed  to  stand  for  America.  It  was  confi 
dently  alleged  that  the  Spaniards  had  refused  to 
adopt  the  name  America  until  after  the  time  of  the 
removal.  In  both  of  these  objections  there  seemed 
to  be  considerable  force.  But  they  cannot  be  re 
garded  as  conclusive ;  for  in  the  first  place  a  more 
careful  copying  of  the  inscriptions  has  revealed  the 
fact  that  they  are  not  so  dissimilar  to  the  prevailing 
methods  of  the  sixteenth  century  as  was  at  first  sup 
posed  ;  and  in  answer  to  the  second  objection,  it  is 
to  be  said  that  Waldseemliller's  book  suggesting  the 
name  America  was  published  in  April  of  1507,  and  that 
as  early  as  1520  the  name  America  began  to  appear 
on  the  maps  published  for  common  use.  It  must  be 
conceded  that  the  crudeness  of  the  inscriptions  seems 
incompatible  with  what  we  may  well  conceive  to  have 
been  the  ceremonious  nature  of  a  removal  of  such 
importance  conducted  under  royal  patronage.  But 
no  account  whatever  of  the  ceremony  has  been  pre 
served.  We  simply  know  that  the  removal  was  per 
mitted  by  royal  order  ;  and  the  fact  that  no  record  of 
the  event  is  now  extant  would  seem  to  give  plausi 
bility  to  the  conjecture  that  the  remains  were  trans 
ported  privately  by  the  family  alone.  If  such  Vas 


246  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

the  case,  the  nature  of  the  inscriptions  placed  upon 
the  leaden  box  would  depend  upon  circumstances  in 
regard  to  which  we  can  now  have  no  knowledge 
whatever. 

In  the  autumn  of  1890  the  German  explorer  Rudolf 
Cronau  determined  to  investigate  this  vexed  question, 
and  if  possible  remove  it  from  the  domain  of  doubt. 
Armed  with  letters  of  introduction  from  the  German 
Government,  he  passed  a  month  in  San  Domingo  for 
the  purpose  of  examining  every  phase  of  the  subject. 
He  not  only  obtained  evidence  from  the  workmen 
who  had  exhumed  the  casket  in  1877,  but  he  also 
secured  the  privilege  of  conducting  a  public  examina 
tion  of  the  inscriptions.  In  the  presence  of  the  con 
suls  of  the  United  States,  England,  France,  Germany, 
and  Italy,  as  well  as  the  officials  of  the  cathedral  and 
of  the  city,  he  conducted  the  examination  on  the  nth 
of  January,  1891.  Removing  the  glass  case  from  the 
side  chapel  to  the  nave  of  the  cathedral,  he  deposited 
it  upon  a  table  prepared  for  the  purpose.  The  seals 
placed  upon  the  case  in  1877  having  been  examined 
and  declared  to  be  intact,  the  surrounding  ribbons 
were  then  removed,  and  with  the  help  of  the  several 
keys  the  case  was  opened. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  describe  all  the  processes  of 
investigation.  It  is,  however,  important  to  say  that 
all  the  inscriptions  were  photographed  upon  zinc,  in 
order  that  they  might  be  etched  in  exact  fac-simile. 
They  have  since  been  reproduced  in  the  first  volume  of 
Cronau's  "  Amerika."  As  the  result  of  his  examina 
tion,  the  author  expresses  his  confident  belief  that  the 


LAS T  DA  YS.  —  DP: A  TH.  —  CHARACTER.      247 

inscriptions  were  cut  in  the  sixteenth  century ;  for  the 
processes  of  oxidation  that  have  taken  place  since 
the  inscriptions  were  made,  seem  to  preclude  the  pos 
sibility  of  their  being  the  work  of  a  modern  hand. 
He  states  that  a  careful  investigation  of  all  the  circum 
stances  attending  the  opening  of  the  tomb  in  1877 
failed  to  give  any  trace  of  opportunity  for  a  forging  of 
the  inscriptions.  The  character  of  the  bishop  in 
charge  in  1877  was  above  reproach.  The  presence 
of  the  bullet  is,  in  the  opinion  of  the  author,  to  be 
regarded  as  confirmatory  proof  of  genuineness,  inas 
much  as  it  is  hardly  conceivable  that  it  would  have 
been  placed  in  the  casket  by  any  fraudulent  intent. 
In  short,  it  is  the  opinion  of  Cronau  that  the  difficul 
ties  in  the  way  of  supporting  the  theory  of  fraud  are 
so  much  greater  than  those  in  the  way  of  supporting 
the  theory  of  genuineness  that  the  charges  of  fraud 
must  be  dismissed,  and  the  theory  of  genuineness 
must  be  finally  and  conclusively  adopted.  It  seems 
probable  that  this  conclusion  will  be  accepted  by  the 
most  judicious  investigators  of  the  subject,  and  that 
in  consequence  the  belief  will  come  to  prevail  that 
the  remains  of  Columbus  are  now  at  San  Domingo, 
and  not  at  Havana. 

After  the  ceremony  of  inspection  was  completed, 
the  casket  and  its  contents  were  replaced  in  the  glass 
box,  and  this,  after  being  wound  about  with  red,  white, 
and  blue  ribbons  and  put  under  the  seals  of  the  several 
consuls  and  of  the  local  authorities,  was  returned  to 
the  side  chapel  as  its  permanent  resting-place. 

It  would  be  a  great  pleasure  if  we  could  know  that 


248  .  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS, 

it  is  now  easy  to  obtain  definite  and  precise  informa 
tion  in  regard  to  those  subtile  peculiarities  of  manner 
and  expression  which  marked  and  determined  the 
appearance  of  the  Admiral.  But  it  seems  to  be  im 
possible.  Of  brief  descriptions  by  personal  acquaint 
ances  there  is  an  abundance  ;  and  in  these  accounts, 
moreover,  there  is  substantial  agreement.  Trevisan, 
after  meeting  the  Admiral  in  1501,  says  of  him  :  "He 
was  a  robust  man,  with  a  tall  figure,  a  ruddy  com 
plexion,  and  a  long  visage."  Oviedo,  who  knew  him 
with  some  intimacy,  says  :  "  Of  good  figure  and  a 
stature  above  the  medium,  Columbus  had  strong  limbs, 
keen  eyes,  a  well-proportioned  body,  very  red  hair,  a 
complexion  that  was  a  little  ruddy  and  marked  with 
freckles."  Las  Casas,  who  saw  him  often  and  under 
diverse  circumstances,  described  him  in  these  words  : 
"  He  had  a  figure  that  was  above  medium  height,  a 
countenance  long  and  imposing,  an  aquiline  nose, 
clear  blue  eyes,  a  light  complexion  tinned  with  red, 
beard  and  hair  blond  in  youth,  but  early  turned  to 
white.  He  was  rough  in  character,  with  little  amia 
bility  of  speech,  affable,  however,  when  he  wished  to 
be,  and  passionate  when  he  was  irritated." 

In  the  matter  of  dress  Columbus  was  in  the  habit 
of  wearing  sombre  colors,  often  appearing  in  the  frock 
of  one  of  the  religious  orders.  Las  Casas  in  one  place 
tsays :  "  I  saw  the  Admiral  at  Seville,  on  his  return 
from  the  second  voyage,  clad  as  a  Franciscan  friar." 
Bernaldez  relates  that  he  saw  him  in  1496  "bound 
about  with  the  cord  of  the  Franciscan  monks;"  and 
Diego  Columbus  affirms  that  his  father  died  "  clad  in 


LAST  DA  VS.  —  DEA  TIL  —  CHA RA  C TER.      249 

the  frock  of  the  Franciscan  order,  to  which  he  was 
much  attached." 

It  is  from  these  descriptions  that  the  numerous 
portraits  which  have  passed  for  likenesses  of  the  Ad 
miral  have  generally  been  composed.  In  all  the  vast 
number  of  paintings  and  engravings  bearing  his  name, 
there  is  probably  not  one  that  can  be  regarded  as  un 
questionably  authentic  ;  for  it  is  not  known  that  a 
single  painting  or  drawing  of  him  was  ever  made  by 
any  person  that  had  ever  seen  him.  Harrisse  makes 
the  sweeping  statement,  "  as  for  the  portraits  painted, 
engraved,  or  sculptured,  which  figure  in  the  collec 
tions,  in  public  places,  and  in  prints,  there  is  not  one 
that  is  authentic;  they  are  all  pure  fancy."  This 
learned  critic  probably  means  that  the  numerous  pic 
tures  have  been  made,  not  from  life,  but  from  extant 
descriptions  of  the  Admiral,  according  to  the  fancy  of 
the  individual  artists. 

Any  one  at  aTK{amiliar  with  the  various  portraits 
that  pass,  here  and  there,  for  likenesses  of  Columbus, 
must  have  been  impressed  with  the  fact  that,  while  a 
few  of  them  present  considerable  resemblance  to  one 
another,  they  are,  almost  without  exception,  lacking 
in  those  elements  of  individuality  that  are  necessary 
to  impress  themselves  firmly  on  the  attention  and 
memory  of  the  beholder.  From  the  collection  as  a 
whole,  one  is  apt  to  derive  a  very  confused  impression 
as  to  how  Columbus  really  appeared.  If  there  is  to 
be  any  exception  to  this  general  statement,  it  should 
perhaps  be  made  in  favour  of  the  portrait  by  Lorenzo 
Lotto,  recently  discovered  at  Venice.  Lotto  was 


250  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

quite  the  most  distinguished  of  the  contemporaneous 
painters  whose  portraits  of  Columbus  have  been  pre 
served.  He  was  absent  from  Venice  during  the  later 
years  of  Columbus's  life,  and  it  is  possible  that  he  was 
in  Spain  during  the  winter  and  spring  just  before  the 
Admiral  set  out  for  his  fourth  voyage.  We  know  that 
Columbus  was  in  Granada  during  the  winter  and 
spring  of  1501-1502,  and  that  during  those  winter 
months  the  Venetian  ambassador  Pisani  and  his  secre 
tary  Camerino  were  assiduous  in  courting  and  enter 
taining  him,  in  order  to  obtain  maps,  charts,  and  other 
information  about  the  newly  discovered  countries.  It 
is  possible  that  Lotto  also  was  present  at  Granada 
and  that  he  had  an  opportunity  to  paint  the  portrait 
from  life.  But  there  is  no  positive  evidence  on  the 
subject.  After  all  the  possibilities  are  admitted,  there 
is  nothing  more  than  a  doubtful  conjecture  that  he 
ever  saw  the  discoverer ;  still  less  is  it  probable  that 
Columbus  sat  for  his  portrait. 

The  painting  by  Lotto  is  said  by  critics  to  be  a 
striking  example  in  color  and  in  general  treatment  of 
this  artist's  early  style.  As  a  portrait,  it  unquestion 
ably  has  admirable  and  striking  characteristics ; 
though  it  is  impossible  to  form  any  positive  opinion 
as  to  the  accuracy  of  the  likeness.  It  bears  a  general 
resemblance  to  the  picture  in  the  Ministry  of  the 
Marine  at  Madrid,  as  well  as  to  the  Capriolo  engrav 
ing  and  to  the  portrait  in  the  collection  of  Count 
D'  Orchi  at  Como.  It  is  scarcely  too  much  to  say 
that  Lotto,  more  than  any  of  the  others,  seems  to 
have  succeeded  in  delineating  certain  subtleties  of 


LA ST  DA  VS.  —  DEA  777.  —  CHA RA  CTER.       25 1 

feature  and  expression  which  reveal  unmistakable 
character.  Whatever  the  opportunities  of  this  artist  for 
knowing  the  personal  appearance  of  Columbus,  it  is 
certain  that  he  was  contemporaneous  with  the  Admiral, 
and  that  he  lived  in  an  Italian  city  that  was  greatly 
moved  by  the  work  of  the  discoverer.  It  is  known, 
moreover,  that  the  Venetian  ambassador  and  his 
secretary  were  at  that  time  sending  home  glowing 
accounts  of  the  significance  of  the  recent  voyages. 
The  pre-eminent  excellence  of  the  painting,  the  mood 
and  character  which  it  reveals,  and  its  very  striking  cor 
respondence  with  the  descriptions  of  the  discoverer  by 
his  acquaintances,  have  led  to  its  selection  for  the 
frontispiece  of  this  volume.  The  portrait  was  pur 
chased  in  the  summer  of  1891  by  an  enterprising  art 
collector  of  Chicago. 

It  remains  only  to  say  a  concluding  word  in  regard 
to  the  estimation  in  which  the  character  and  the  work 
of  Columbus  are  finally  to  be  held. 

It  is  not  easy  to  establish  a  standard  by  which  to 
judge  of  a  man  whose  life  was  in  an  age  that  is 
past.  In  defiance  of  all  scholarship,  the  judgments 
of  critics  continue  to  differ  in  regard  to  Alex 
ander,  Julius  Caesar,  and  even  Frederick  the  Great, 
and  Napoleon.  On  the  one  hand,  nothing  can  be 
more  unjust  than  to  bring  to  the  judgment  of  the 
present  age  a  man  whose  activities  were  exerted  amid 
surroundings  and  influences  that  have  long  since 
changed  and  passed  away  ;  while,  on  the  other,  nothing 
is  more  unsafe  than  to  regard  the  opinions  of  contem 
poraries  as  the  just  and  final  judgment  of  humanity. 


252  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

Between  these  two  dangers  we  must  seek  the  basis  of 
a  judgment  in  those  eternal  verities  which  are  appli 
cable  to  every  age.  Since  civilization  began,  good 
men  have  ever  recognized  certain  principles  of  right 
and  justice  as  applicable  to  all  men  and  all  time. 
Did  his  life  and  his  work  tend  to  the  elevation  of 
mankind  ?  If  so,  did  these  results  flow  from  his  con 
scious  purpose?  If  temporary  wrong  and  injustice 
were  done,  were  these  accessory  to  the  firmer  estab 
lishment  of  those  broad  principles  which  must  under 
lie  all  security  and  happiness?  These,  or  such  as 
these,  are  the  questions  which  it  is  necessary  to  ask 
when  we  undertake  to  form  a  judgment  in  regard  to 
any  man  that  has  performed  a  great  part  or  exerted  a 
great  influence.  If  we  apply  these  principles  in  form 
ing  an  opinion  of  Columbus,  what  will  be  the  result  ? 

In  point  of  character,  —  considering  the  term  in  the 
largest  and  broadest  possible  sense, —  we  shall  probably 
not  find  very  much  to  admire.  The  moral  atmos 
phere  which  he  created  about  him  was  not  much 
better  or  much  worse  than  the  general  atmosphere  of 
the  age  in  which  he  lived.  He  entered  no  protest 
against  any  of  the  abuses  of  the  time.  On  the  con 
trary,  he  was  ever  ready  to  avail  himself  of  those 
abuses  whenever  he  could  do  so  to  his  own  advan 
tage.  In  his  age  the  most  sensitive  natures  were  be 
ginning  to  revolt  against  the  horrors  of  the  slave-trade. 
But  Columbus,  in  his  letters  and  his  journal  describing 
his  first  voyage,  points  out  the  riches  that  would  result 
to  Spain  by  filling  the  slave-markets  with  captives 
from  the  newly  discovered  islands.  He  repeatedly 


LAST  DA  YS.  —  DEA  777.  —  CHARACTER.      253 

urged  a  policy  of  slave-catching  upon  the  Government ; 
and  gave  just  offence  by  persistency  in  such  a  policy, 
after  receiving  a  plain  intimation  that  it  could  not  be 
adopted.  There  is  no  evidence  that  he  ever  aban 
doned  the  idea  that  a  true  policy  required  that  ships 
in  going  from  the  mother-country  to  the  islands  should 
be  loaded  with  cattle,  and  that  the  same  ships  in 
going  back  from  the  islands  to  the  mother-country 
should  be  loaded  with  slaves.  His  first  letters  glow 
with  accounts  of  the  gentleness  and  hospitality  of  the 
natives.  The  Indians  regarded  the  new  comers  as 
visitors  from  heaven.  When  Columbus's  own  vessel 
was  shipwrecked,  the  inhabitants  on  the  coast  not  only 
rendered  every  possible  assistance,  but  offered  to  give 
up  everything  they  had  for  the  accommodation  of  the 
unfortunate  visitors.  Columbus  himself  testifies  that 
the  native  cacique- shed  "  tears  of  sympathy."  Such 
was  the  spirit  with  which  the  Spaniards  were  met, 
and  such  was  the  spirit  until  the  policy  of  kidnapping 
and  devastation  was  begun.  Gradually  the  Spaniards 
began  to  seize  the  natives  as  prisoners  whenever  op 
portunity  offered.  Men  were  found  to  be  less  desir 
able  captives  than  women  and  children. 

Las  Casas,  the  most  discriminating  and  thoughtful, 
as  well  as  the  most  humane,  of  all  writers  of  the  time, 
has  in  a  single  sentence  described  the  beginning  of 
the  evil.  These  are  his  fruitful  words  :  "  Since  men 
are  never  accustomed  to  fall  into  a  single  error,  nor 
into  a  sin  to  be  committed  alone,  without  a  greater 
one  by  and  by  following,  so  it  fell  out  that  the  Ad 
miral  .  .  .  sent  a  boat  with  certain  sailors  to  a  house  that 


254  CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

stood  on  the  side  of  the  river  toward  the  west,  and 
they  took  and  carried  off  seven  women,  small  and 
great,  with  three  children.  This  he  says  he  did  be 
cause  Spaniards  with  women  behave  themselves  better 
than  without  them.  A  genteel  excuse  has  he  given 
to  colour  and  justify  a  deed  so  nefarious."  From  a 
general  policy,  the  beginning  of  which  is  so  signifi 
cantly  described  by  Las  Casas,  it  came  about  very 
naturally  that,  notwithstanding  the  noteworthy  gentle 
ness  of  the  natives,  it  was  soon  discovered  that  they 
were  not  absolutely  devoid  of  the  instincts  and  im 
pulses  of  human  nature.  The  inevitable  result  fol 
lowed.  The  natives  determined  to  defend  their  wives 
and  their  children.  A  war  of  extermination  ensued. 
The  number  of  the  inhabitants  upon  these  islands  was 
variously  estimated  by  Las  Casas  and  others  of  his 
day.  The  lowest  estimate  that  can  now  be  reconciled 
with  the  original  accounts  is  forty  thousand.  In  the 
course  of  the  fourteen  years  between  the  discovery 
and  Columbus's  death  the  number  had  been  reduced 
by  fully  one  half;  and  it  was  only  a  few  years  later 
when  the  last  of  them,  hunted  like  beasts  and  torn  by 
bloodhounds,  perished  from  the  earth.  We  are  accus 
tomed  to  regard  Cortez  and  Pizarro  as  exceptional 
embodiments  of  inhumanity  and  cruelty.  But  Cortez 
and  Pizarro  only  followed  the  example  that  had  al 
ready  been  set. 

Nor  is  it  possible  to  acquit  Columbus  of  responsi 
bility  for  the  course  that  was  taken.  His  position 
gave  him  plenary  powers.  No  man  ever  had  fewer 
scruples  in  the  exercise  of  all  the  authority  conferred 


LAST  DA  YS.  —  DEA  TIL  —  CHARACTER.      255 

upon  him.  It  is  indeed  true  that  the  policy  of  the 
Spaniards  showed  itself  at  its  worst  after  the  authority 
of  Columbus  was  at  an  end.  But  it  is  also  true  that 
this  policy  in  all  its  most  deplorable  features  was  in 
augurated  by  hifli ;  and  therefore  he  is  to  be  held 
responsible  at  the  bar  of  history  for  the  evil  conse 
quences  that  ensued. 

Nor,  again,  can  we  say  that  the  end  justified  the 
means.  Columbus  never  expected  or  desired  to  dis 
cover  a  new  country.  His  motive  in  urging  the  sup 
port  of  the  voyages  was  twofold.  He  desired,  on  the 
one  hand,  to  bring  back  the  wealth  that  would  enable 
his  sovereigns  to  conquer  Jerusalem  for  Christianity  ; 
and,  on  the  other,  to  acquire  wealth  and  fame  for 
himself.  The  only  condition  of  success  was  the  find 
ing  of  vast  amounts  of  gold.  The  reports  of  John  de 
Mandeville  and  Marco  Polo  had  filled  his  mind  with 
confidence  that  the  necessary  gold  existed  and  could 
be  acquired,  if  only  it  could  be  found.  Hence  his 
restless  activity.  Never  dreaming  till  the  day  of  his 
death  that  the  islands  he  had  discovered  were  not  off 
the  coast  of  Asia,  he  thought  himself  not  far  away 
from  the  mines  that  had  brought  such  wealth  to  Ci- 
pango  and  Cathay.  Everything,  therefore,  was  made 
to  contribute  to  this  fruitless  search.  No  thoughtful 
person  can  read  the  original  accounts  of  the  four 
voyages  without  being  impressed  with  the  fact  that  he 
was  constantly  led  on  from  one  thing  to  another  by 
the  alluring  reports  of  gold.  This  endless  and  fruit 
less  quest  was  the  cause  of  the  worst  features  of  his 
misgovernment.  The  gold  mines  stubbornly  refused 


256  CHRISTOPHER    COLUMBUS. 

to  reveal  themselves.  Recourse  was  then  had  to  that 
pitiless  system  of  repartimientos,  or  enforced  labour, 
which  everywhere  threw  the  natives  into  despair. 
Then  it  was  that,  in  the  words  of  Las  Casas,  "  The 
Admiral  went  over  a  great  part  of  th£  island,  making 
cruel  war  on  all  the  kings  and  peoples  who  would  not 
come  into  obedience."  Elsewhere  the  same  great 
authority  says  :  "  In  those  days  and  months  the  great 
est  outrages  and  slaughter  of  people  and  depopulation 
of  villages  went  on,  because  the  Indians  put  forth  all 
their  strength  to  see  if  they  could  drive  from  their 
territories  a  people  so  murderous  and  cruel."  The 
original  authorities  prove  beyond  question  that  the 
policy  was  simply  one  of  unqualified  cupidity,  cruelly 
and  relentlessly  enforced. 

We  have  already  seen  that  the  death  of  Columbus 
attracted  no  general  attention  and  awakened  no 
general  comment.  This  remarkable  fact  was  in  strict 
consonance  with  the  spirit  of  the  time,  for  the  ex 
ploits  of  other  voyagers  had  already  caught  the  public 
ear  and  monopolized  public  attention.  Americus 
Vespucius  had  returned  from  his  second  voyage  and 
had  aroused  the  attention  of  all  Europe  by  means  of 
his  glowing  accounts  of  the  new  continent.  The 
Cabots  from  England  had  at  least  skirted  along  the 
coasts  of  what  is  now  known  as  North  America.  The 
Portuguese  had  discovered  a  safe  passage  to  the  In 
dies  by  sailing  to  the  south  and  east,  and  had  begun 
to  raise  the  question  of  their  rights  in  consequence  of 
the  independent  discovery  of  Brazil,  in  the  year  1500, 
by  Pedro  Cabral.  Pizarro  had  learned  the  art  of  war 


LAS  T  DA  YS.  —  DEA  TH.  —  CHAR  A  C  TER.      257 

under  the  unscrupulous  Ojeda,  and  Cortez  had  had 
the  schooling  of  long  interviews  with  Columbus  at  San 
Domingo.  Balboa  and  Magellan  had  already  com 
pleted  their  apprenticeship,  and  were  now  about  to 
astonish  the  world  by  revealing  to  it  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
In  the  very  year  of  Columbus's  death,  fishermen  from 
Portugal  were  already  plying  their  vocation  with  profit 
on  the  banks  of  Newfoundland  ;  and  less  than  a  year 
later,  the  Spaniard  Velasco  had  entered  the  St.  Law 
rence.  Within  the  short  life  of  one  generation  the 
whole  coast  from  Cape  Breton  to  the  Straits  of  Ma 
gellan  became  the  scene  of  maritime  activity.  In  all 
parts  of  the  Old  World,  as  well  as  of  the  New,  it  was 
evident  that  Columbus  had  kindled  a  fire  in  every 
mariner's  heart.  That  fire  was  the  harbinger  of  a  new 
era,  for  it  was  not  to  be  extinguished. 


INDEX. 


AGNADO,  DON  JOHN,  appointed 
inspector,  166. 

Assistance,  obstacles  to,  44  ;  argu 
ments  at  Salamanca,  52. 

BARCELONA,  Columbus's  recep 
tion  at,  118. 

Bobadilla,  Francis  de,  198  ;  brutal 
energy  of,  203. 

Boyle,  Father,  mutinous  spirit  of, 
166. 

Brooks,  W.  K.,  account  of  the 
Lucayan  Indians,  149. 

Bull  of  demarcation,  122. 

CABRAL,  PEDRO,  discovers  Brazil, 
214. 

Caonabo,  bravery  of,  142,  157. 

Caribbean  Sea,  visit  to,  131. 

Caribs,  discovery  of,  106  ;  character 
of,  132. 

Catilina,  loss  of,  1^8. 

Columbus,  Bartholomew,  his  birth, 
6 ;  abode  at  Lisbon,  16 ;  goes 
to  England  and  France,  42  ;  in 
charge  at  Isabella,  169  ;  author 
ity  confirmed,  173;  disasters, 
184. 

Columbus,  Christopher,  place  of 
his  birth,  i ;  time  of  his  birth,  4; 


parentage,  6 ;  early  years,  7 ; 
geographical  studies,  8;  early 
maritime  experience,  9  ;  voyage 
to  the  north,  n  ;  vocation  as  a 
bookseller,  14  ;  his  geographical 
learning,  15  ;  his  moving  to  Lis 
bon,  1 5 ;  his  marriage,  1 7  ;  leaves 
Portugal,  19  ;  commercial  enter 
prises,  21 ;  ideas  of  discovery,  22 ; 
sphericity  of  the  earth,  23  ;  influ 
ence  of  the  Imago  Mundi,  27; 
lettejs  of  Toscanelli;  29 ;  at 
tempts  to  secure  assistance,  34  ; 
refusal  of  Portugal,  40  ;  leaves 
Portugal  for  Spain,  41  ;  seeks 
assistance,  44  ;  obstacles.  45  ; 
royal  support,  47 ;  meeting  at 
Salamanca,  53  ;  relations  with 
Beatriz  Henriquez,  57  ;  visit  to 
Portugal,  58;  Talavera,  60  ;  goes 
to  La  Kabida,  62  ;  visits  the 
court,  64  ;  terms  demanded,  65; 
terms  of  the  commission,  68 ; 
the  first  voyage,  74  ;  conduct  of 
the  crew,  85  :  indications  of  land, 
85  ;  discovery  of  land,  87 ;  set 
tlement  at  La  Navidad,  96  ;  sails 
for  home,  105  ;  storms,  108  ; 
reception  at  Lisbon,  114  ;  at  Pa- 
los,  115;  at  Barcelona,  118;  re 
newal  of  commission,  122;  pre- 


260 


INDEX. 


paration  for  second  voyage,  126; 
the  Caribbean  Sea,  131;  loss  of 
La  Navidad,  136;  founding  of 
Isabella,  140 ;  report  to  the  mon- 
archs,  143  ;  slavery  proposed, 
144  ;  visits  Cuba,  152  ;  oath  re 
quired  of  the  men,  154  ;  return, 
155  ;  additional  demands  for  gold, 
162  ;  general  spirit  of  revolt,  164 ; 
Agnado,  166  ;  determination  to 
return,  168;  reaches  Spain,  172; 
residence  with  Bernaldez,  174; 
preparations  forthird  voyage,  175; 
sailing,  177;  discovers  Trinidad, 
178;  discovers  mainland,  179; 
reaches  Isabella,  184;  revolt  of 
Roldan,  188  ;  unfavourable  re 
ports,  196  ;  Bobadilla  appointed, 
197  ;  arrest  and  confinement  of 
Columbus,  203 ;  reaches  Spain 
in  chains,  205  ;  judgment  of  Isa 
bella,  207  ;  importunities,  211  ; 
fourth  expedition  sails,  216;  is 
denied  the  port  at  San  Domingo, 
220 ;  terrible  storms,  222  ;  sails 
along  the  Mosquito  coast,  225  ; 
Varagua,  225  ;  disasters,  227 ; 
disappointment  and  withdrawal, 
228 ;  shipwreck  on  coast  of  Ja 
maica,  229  ;  final  rescue,  233  ; 
return  to  Spain,  234  ;  last  days, 
235  ;  numerous  letters,  236  ; 
makes  his  will,  238  ;  death,  238  ; 
burial,  239  ;  removal  of  remains, 
240;  question  of  dispute,  241; 
personal  appearance,  248 ;  por 
traits,  248  ;  estimate  of  his  char 
acter,  252. 
Columbus,  Diego,  appointment  of, 

201. 

Columbus,  Fernando,  his  birth,  20. 
Crew  of  the  first  expedition,  76;  of 

the  second,   125  ;  of  the  fourth, 

216. 


Cronau,  his  theory  as  to  the  land 
fall,  89  ;  investigation  of  the 
place  of  the  remains,  246. 

Cuba,  discovery  of,  94. 

D'AILLY,  CARDINAL,  influence  of 

his  Imago  Mundi,  27. 
Deza,  Diego  de,  friendliness  of,  53. 
Diaz,  Bartholomew,  discovers  Cape 

of  Good  Hope,  22. 
Diaz,  Bernald,  mutiny  of,  152. 
Discovery,  first  ideas  of  Columbus 

concerning,  32. 
Discoveries    of    the    Cabots    and 

others,  213,  256. 

ENGLAND,  application  to,  36. 

FONSECA,  appointment  of,  to  su- 
perintendency,  124;  unfriendli 
ness  to  Columbus,  176. 

France,  application  to,  36. 

GENOA,  probable  place  of  Colum- 
bus's  birth,  i  ;  assistance,  33. 

Gold,  its  place  in  the  mind  of  Co 
lumbus,  98  ;  quest  of,  147  ;  tri 
bute  for,  1 60  ;  reported  discovery 
of,  184. 

Guanahani,  discovery  and  situation 
of,  87. 

ICELAND,  probable  voyage  of  Co 
lumbus  to,  12,  28. 

Indians,  character  of,  92,  148 ; 
friendly  nature  of,  96 ;  attitude 
of  Columbus  toward,  102 ;  re 
volt  of,  157,  160,  162;  friendli 
ness  of,  179. 

Inquisition  in  Spain,  44. 

Isabella,  city  of,  founded,  140 ;  con 
dition  of,  in  1500,  209. 


261 


Isabella,  of  Castile,  attitude  to 
ward  Columbus,  49 ;  judgment 
concerning  Columbus,  207. 

LA  NAVIDAD,  colony  settled  at, 

96;  loss  of  colony,  135. 
La  Rabida,  monastery  of,  41  ;  visit 

of  Columbus  to,  62. 
Las  Casas,  his  judicious  estimate  of 

Columbus,  253. 
Lisbon,  home  of  Columbus,  13. 

MANDEVILLE,  JOHN  DE,  writings 
of,  26. 

Margarite,  expedition  of,  156;  re 
turn  to  Spain,  156. 

Marriage  of  Columbus,  17. 

Medina  Celi,  assists  Columbus.  43, 

59- 

Mendez,  Diego,  daring  sail  from 
Jamaica,  230. 

Moorish  war,  46. 

Moya,  The  Marchioness  de,  assist 
ance  of,  54. 

Mutinous  spirit  in  Isabella,  164. 

OJEDA,  expedition  of,  142,  147, 
157;  unfriendliness  of,  193. 

Ovando,  succeeds  Bobadilla.  215  ; 
refuses  hospitality  to  Columbus, 
220 ;  shipwreck,  222  ;  grants 
hospitality,  234. 

PINZON,  Martin  Alonzo,  76  ;  his 
treachery  and  death,  115. 

Piratical  experiences  of  Colum 
bus,  9. 

Porras,  Francisco  de,  revolt  of,  231. 


Portraits  of  Columbus,  249. 
Portugal,  refuses  assistance,  39. 
Prince  Henry,  34. 
Ptolemy,  Geography  of,  24. 

QUINTANILLA,  ALONZO  DE,  48. 

REMAINS    of    Columbus    at  San 

Domingo,  241. 
Repartimientos,  establishment  of, 

161,  183. 
Roldan,  revolt  of,  188  ;  settlement 

of  difficulties,  191. 

SALAMANCA,  audience  at,  49. 

Slavery,  proposed  by  Columbus, 
144  ;  persisted  in,  182,  194. 

Sphericity  of  the  earth,  22  ;  his 
tory  of  the  doctrine,  23  ;  specula 
tions  of  Columbus  regarding, 
180. 

TALAVERA,  60,  64. 
Tordesillas,  treaty  of,  128. 
Toscanelli,  letters  of,  29. 
Trinidad,  discovery  of,  178. 

VENICE,  relations  of,  to  Columbus, 

35- 
Vespucius,  Americus,  relations  of, 

to  Columbus,  237. 
Voyage,  the  first,  preparation  for, 

76 :  preparation  for  the  second, 

125  ;  for  the  third,  171. 

WATLING'S  ISLAND,  the  place  of 
the  landfall,  89. 


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